An update on my last PT appointment:
I can now lift six pounds at a time. That's right. I can bench six pounds. (Six. Single digit. ... But it's better than when I could only lift one pound, a time which I very clearly remember, from the not-so-distant past. So, I'll take it.)
While I'm bragging, I'll go on and tell you that I can do five reps with the six pound bar before my right arm collapses.
That's right, I can lift six pounds over my head five times in succession. It's the big time, folks.
And now I will tell you a funny story about how lame I am. (You will love this, I am sure.)
I was talking to a friend at work about how TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE one of my PT exercises is. I described it to her as having to lie on my stomach, with my hands at my side. I then have to stretch/reach straight down as far as I can and then lift my arms (and, here's the real kicker - no pun intended - legs) up from the bed/floor until they're at a 20 degree angle with my body. (The goal is closer to a 30 degree angle. The reality is closer to a 10 degree angle. ... I am a weakling.)
As I was describing this exercise and how IMPOSSIBLE it would be for ANYONE to do it, let alone me, with my clipped wing and non-existent stomach muscles, she squinted up at me and said, "Actually, that's a real exercise. It's called the Superman, I think. People do it at the gym all the time."
Huh. So much for thinking it would be impossible for anyone to do this exercise. ... Turns out "gym people" do it all the time. (Remind me to never go to the gym. I prefer living in a world where it's awesome to be able to lift six pounds at a time and it's okay to modify simple stretches, thanks.)
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
October 1
It is October, people!
Let the Birthday Month celebrations commence.
And how am I spending the evening of October 1st, you ask?
Reading my new book.
Behold:
"That country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain.”
― Ray Bradbury, The October Country
I love Ray Bradbury. He is my new favorite author. ... Until he scares the pants off me with his creepy stories. Maybe then he won't be my favorite anymore - but he is for now.
I'm off to read. Happy October, ya'll!
Saturday, September 29, 2012
September 29
Do you see these shoes?
Do you SEE them? ... I wore them last night.
That's right. I'm 5'10" and I am the proud owner of more than one pair of four inch heels. Few things thrill me more than being one of the tallest people in a crowded room. (What does thrill me more than being one of the tallest people in a crowded room, you ask? When a man who is still a good 2-3 inches taller than me, even when I'm in heels, comes over to introduce himself. ... It doesn't happen very often, but it is thrilling when it does. Every time.)
The bank opened another branch while I was out for surgery, and last night was the Grand Opening Event. (Read: Fancy dress-up party with pretty little finger foods and hand-dipped chocolates.) Thus, the occasion for breaking out the high heels was born. *Gulp*
While I am a dress-wearing kind of girl, I have been rocking the ballet flats with my skirts for the last three+ months. One of the many things you don't know you use stomach muscles for - until you don't have them - is wearing heels. Or any shoe with an elevation, actually. There's an incredible balancing act that takes place when your feet aren't directly parallel with the ground. One of the many things I've learned in the last two years is, if you don't have the ab control to keep yourself upright, it's best to keep your feet in flips or other flats.
But it's been over three months since surgery. Last night was special. It was a fancy party. I wore a dress that fit. I pinned my hair up (even its thinned state, it still takes almost 20 bobby pins to hold my hair up, fyi). I. Wore. Heels.
I walked into the courtyard and was met by two friends whose eyebrows shot right up as their eyes went directly to my feet. "You're wearing HEELS!", they said. They asked if I was gonna be okay. I assured them that I was.
And then I promptly walked into the bank and found a wall to lean up against. When I had to move (in an effort to mingle), I found a table with a high-backed chair that I could keep one hand on (for balance, and to take some of the hit off my stomach) while I chatted it up. After an hour of standing, I called it quits, broke all social etiquette and plopped down in a chair in the lobby.
Read: While I did wear heels last night, for approximately three hours, I didn't actually move around in them all that much. In fact, I leaned against a wall, a chair, a friend ... anything I could find ... for much of the time, until my body literally caved and I had to sit down. But I wore them. And I rocked them, all 6'2" of me.
And then I woke up this morning and tried to roll over to get out of bed. Uhhhhh... Not happening. Holy MOLY, was wearing/standing/leaning in heels a core workout and a half!
I mean, I knew that wearing the heels would work my stomach. And work me, they did. I could feel it last night, but I had thought that finding something - anything - to lean against would help. (The sick thing is, it probably did help. A lot. And I'm still this sore.)
Don't get me wrong. They are beautiful, glorious shoes and they were worth it. ... But I'll tell you right now that I am NOT wearing heels to church tomorrow. For sure.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
September 27
Last week, I ran some tallies on the Cancer Girl donations: dollar amounts, who and where the funds had come from, etc., and I found the most interesting thing.
People are good.
I mean, I already knew that people are good. ... But what I found is that people are AMAZING. I have been humbled and inspired, not just by the generosity of my own circle of friends, but by the kindness of strangers. Read: My mind has been officially blown.
Get this. The PayPal donations were split almost down the middle, with funds coming from friends/family v. people I had never heard of prior to June 2012. The Wells Fargo check deposits were an even split: 33.3% friends/family, 33.3% friends of my parents (people I don't know, but who know my folks) and 33.3% total and complete strangers. The cash, I can't track, but the numbers and percentages that I can see tell the tale: People are good. And kind. And generous.
When I was running the percentages, I couldn't help but think back to my last appointment with Dr. G. We'd had a rather lengthy discussion about my blog, and I thought he would find the percentages interesting (also, I had a point to make), so I shot him an email to give him a report on the current state of affairs. For fun, and to create a permanent record of his response, I've copied and pasted the email chain below.
Subject: People are good
Dr. G
I wanted to let you know that I thought of you tonight as I was researching and tallying up my PayPal/donation totals. At my last visit, you'd asked about my blog and we talked a little about the traffic (current readership varies from 75-200, depending on what day of the week I post) and the fact that I'd thrown myself a fundraiser - by pointblank asking my friends and family (oh, and anyone else who wanted to pitch in) to donate to a benefit account and/or through PayPal - came up. You asked how much had been donated. At the time, it was *$X,XXX. I remember you sitting back on your stool, and with a dazed look, saying "I think you may have disproved my theory". I asked what your theory was, and your answer was "People suck!"
I'm here to tell you, Dr. G, people are good.
I ran the numbers again tonight. The donated amount has more than doubled since we talked about it at that office visit. The goodness and generosity of people is astonishing to me. ... And the real kicker is, a good portion of the people who've donated are people who have never met me. I've had 47 PayPal donations in the last twelve weeks. Twenty-one of those donations came from names that I had never heard/seen before they showed up in my account history. The cash donations at Wells Fargo are untraceable, but I would assume that the same trend (strangers, or maybe friends of friends, giving to someone in need) would hold true there.
Isn't that amazing?
When I ran the numbers, saw the total and realized that almost half of the traceable donations were from names I didn't know, I couldn't help but think of you and your theory. I'm very sorry to have to disprove your, I'm very sure, well-thought-out and researched theory, but I think you'll have to agree with me here. Not all people suck. Some of them (a lot of them, really) are totally awesome.
~ Laurie Evans
PS - Thank you. For having saved my life by cutting me open and taking cancer out of my body. ... Here's hoping we never have to do that again! ... But really, thank you. For saving my life. I owe you one. ;-)
PPS - Just in case you'd be interested, I'll give you the link to the post that started it all. I'm sure you'll find it very compelling reading. I mean... a heck of a lot of other people did! (Just don't tell Dr. H that almost 2,500 people have read this and know that I have a crush on him. I wouldn't want the celebrity status to go to his head.)
http://razzzberries.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-16.html
His response:
OK...some people are good!
I won't lie, I was a little disappointed that Dr. H didn't email me, too, if only to thank me for making him an international symbol of cancer-curing love. But alas, it seems that Dr. G really didn't tell Dr. H about my email and/or the blog in which I tell the world - on a semi-regular basis - how dreamy my oncologist is. Go figure.
I'm not sure which is the stronger emotion, the gratitude towards those who have helped me in my time of need, or the pride that I was able to talk Dr. G around to my way of seeing the world. (At least a little bit. I think it's a lot more than "some" people who are good, but I'll take whatever concession I can get from him on the matter. He did, after all, used to have a theory about all people that I simply cannot support - even if it did make me laugh out loud when he said it.)
*$X,XXX is not a real number. Many of you, I am sure, recognized this fact. For privacy and security reasons, I don't feel like I should disclose the actual dollar amount that was donated. (I did, however, give Dr. G the real number. Mostly because I find it amazing. Also, it was part of disproving his theory. I figured he needed to know, but the rest of the world does not.) Just know that you all impress and amaze me. I will ALWAYS be grateful for the life lesson this summer - this fundraiser - has been. Thank you, to all of you out there in the www, for having shown love and compassion in whatsoever way that you could. I am deeply beholden.
People are good.
I mean, I already knew that people are good. ... But what I found is that people are AMAZING. I have been humbled and inspired, not just by the generosity of my own circle of friends, but by the kindness of strangers. Read: My mind has been officially blown.
Get this. The PayPal donations were split almost down the middle, with funds coming from friends/family v. people I had never heard of prior to June 2012. The Wells Fargo check deposits were an even split: 33.3% friends/family, 33.3% friends of my parents (people I don't know, but who know my folks) and 33.3% total and complete strangers. The cash, I can't track, but the numbers and percentages that I can see tell the tale: People are good. And kind. And generous.
When I was running the percentages, I couldn't help but think back to my last appointment with Dr. G. We'd had a rather lengthy discussion about my blog, and I thought he would find the percentages interesting (also, I had a point to make), so I shot him an email to give him a report on the current state of affairs. For fun, and to create a permanent record of his response, I've copied and pasted the email chain below.
Subject: People are good
Dr. G
I wanted to let you know that I thought of you tonight as I was researching and tallying up my PayPal/donation totals. At my last visit, you'd asked about my blog and we talked a little about the traffic (current readership varies from 75-200, depending on what day of the week I post) and the fact that I'd thrown myself a fundraiser - by pointblank asking my friends and family (oh, and anyone else who wanted to pitch in) to donate to a benefit account and/or through PayPal - came up. You asked how much had been donated. At the time, it was *$X,XXX. I remember you sitting back on your stool, and with a dazed look, saying "I think you may have disproved my theory". I asked what your theory was, and your answer was "People suck!"
I'm here to tell you, Dr. G, people are good.
I ran the numbers again tonight. The donated amount has more than doubled since we talked about it at that office visit. The goodness and generosity of people is astonishing to me. ... And the real kicker is, a good portion of the people who've donated are people who have never met me. I've had 47 PayPal donations in the last twelve weeks. Twenty-one of those donations came from names that I had never heard/seen before they showed up in my account history. The cash donations at Wells Fargo are untraceable, but I would assume that the same trend (strangers, or maybe friends of friends, giving to someone in need) would hold true there.
Isn't that amazing?
When I ran the numbers, saw the total and realized that almost half of the traceable donations were from names I didn't know, I couldn't help but think of you and your theory. I'm very sorry to have to disprove your, I'm very sure, well-thought-out and researched theory, but I think you'll have to agree with me here. Not all people suck. Some of them (a lot of them, really) are totally awesome.
~ Laurie Evans
PS - Thank you. For having saved my life by cutting me open and taking cancer out of my body. ... Here's hoping we never have to do that again! ... But really, thank you. For saving my life. I owe you one. ;-)
PPS - Just in case you'd be interested, I'll give you the link to the post that started it all. I'm sure you'll find it very compelling reading. I mean... a heck of a lot of other people did! (Just don't tell Dr. H that almost 2,500 people have read this and know that I have a crush on him. I wouldn't want the celebrity status to go to his head.)
http://razzzberries.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-16.html
His response:
OK...some people are good!
I won't lie, I was a little disappointed that Dr. H didn't email me, too, if only to thank me for making him an international symbol of cancer-curing love. But alas, it seems that Dr. G really didn't tell Dr. H about my email and/or the blog in which I tell the world - on a semi-regular basis - how dreamy my oncologist is. Go figure.
I'm not sure which is the stronger emotion, the gratitude towards those who have helped me in my time of need, or the pride that I was able to talk Dr. G around to my way of seeing the world. (At least a little bit. I think it's a lot more than "some" people who are good, but I'll take whatever concession I can get from him on the matter. He did, after all, used to have a theory about all people that I simply cannot support - even if it did make me laugh out loud when he said it.)
*$X,XXX is not a real number. Many of you, I am sure, recognized this fact. For privacy and security reasons, I don't feel like I should disclose the actual dollar amount that was donated. (I did, however, give Dr. G the real number. Mostly because I find it amazing. Also, it was part of disproving his theory. I figured he needed to know, but the rest of the world does not.) Just know that you all impress and amaze me. I will ALWAYS be grateful for the life lesson this summer - this fundraiser - has been. Thank you, to all of you out there in the www, for having shown love and compassion in whatsoever way that you could. I am deeply beholden.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
September 26
For those of you who may have thought I was exaggerating about the hair loss, I give you my most recent haul:
That's six brush-fulls of hair, kids. SIX.
Last time I washed my hair and then brushed it, that's what came out. (Good thing I only do that twice a week, eh?)
Please allow me to draw your attention to the fact that this hairball is filling my hand. FILLING my giant, man-sized hand.
Also, for any of who who have exclaimed, "Really? You have gray in your hair?! I've never noticed" when I have complained to you about my old lady hair, all I can say back is, "LIAR!" ... There's all manner of gray in my hair, as is evidenced by the contrast of silver against chocolate in this cantaloupe-sized hairball. (It filled half of my bathroom trash bin, people. Literally HALF of the garbage in my bathroom is hair.)
INSANE!
That's six brush-fulls of hair, kids. SIX.
Last time I washed my hair and then brushed it, that's what came out. (Good thing I only do that twice a week, eh?)
Please allow me to draw your attention to the fact that this hairball is filling my hand. FILLING my giant, man-sized hand.
Also, for any of who who have exclaimed, "Really? You have gray in your hair?! I've never noticed" when I have complained to you about my old lady hair, all I can say back is, "LIAR!" ... There's all manner of gray in my hair, as is evidenced by the contrast of silver against chocolate in this cantaloupe-sized hairball. (It filled half of my bathroom trash bin, people. Literally HALF of the garbage in my bathroom is hair.)
INSANE!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
September 22
Okay, kids... It's that time again.
That's right. IT'S FUNDRAISER TIME!
My friend Christian is hosting a Scentsy Fundraiser for me. It will be open through the end of the month, so you have a week or so to peruse the Fall/Winter catalogue to your satisfaction before you need to make a decision. And don't you worry your pretty little head about how something will get to you. Christian and I may live in Arizona, but if you're reading this from the comfort of your cozy couch in the heart of Nebraskan farm country, you can go to her site and put in your address with your order, and in just a few days, you'll receive a little (or big) Scentsy box right there on your own sweet wrap-around porch.
Ahhhh... the joys of shopping online and then getting packages in the mail.
And shopping for a good cause (because we all know that I like to consider myself a good cause)? You just can't beat the feeling of having done something that will help someone else! (Also, it's just fun to get something seasonal and new in the mail!) Come on... You know you want to!
Click here to go right to her site.
You'll see that there are two parties open right now. Be sure to click the FBO - Laurie link so the credit for the orders will go to the fundraiser party.
Oh, gosh. There are SO MANY fun Fall/Halloween and Christmas things coming out right now!
Here's a fun sort of Fall-ish one...
And then there are the Christmasy things...
How darling is that? I know that I have a special place in my heart for anything Snowflake-related, but still... You have to admit that's pretty darn adorable!
How sweet are those rosy little cheeks? I want to pinch them!
That's right. IT'S FUNDRAISER TIME!
My friend Christian is hosting a Scentsy Fundraiser for me. It will be open through the end of the month, so you have a week or so to peruse the Fall/Winter catalogue to your satisfaction before you need to make a decision. And don't you worry your pretty little head about how something will get to you. Christian and I may live in Arizona, but if you're reading this from the comfort of your cozy couch in the heart of Nebraskan farm country, you can go to her site and put in your address with your order, and in just a few days, you'll receive a little (or big) Scentsy box right there on your own sweet wrap-around porch.
Ahhhh... the joys of shopping online and then getting packages in the mail.
And shopping for a good cause (because we all know that I like to consider myself a good cause)? You just can't beat the feeling of having done something that will help someone else! (Also, it's just fun to get something seasonal and new in the mail!) Come on... You know you want to!
Click here to go right to her site.
You'll see that there are two parties open right now. Be sure to click the FBO - Laurie link so the credit for the orders will go to the fundraiser party.
Oh, gosh. There are SO MANY fun Fall/Halloween and Christmas things coming out right now!
And if you're not sure what you want, or if you're one of those weirdos who just can't stand to buy anything for yourself (I, clearly, don't understand this kind of selfless behavior), I'll give you an itemized wish list and you can make a purchase and put my address in the "deliver to" box.
You know me... Always doing what I can to make it easy for people to give me stuff I want.
How fun are these Halloweeny things? I love them!
The All Hallows Wrap:
Pumpkin:
Fright Night Plug-In:
Linden Silhouette
And then there are the Christmasy things...
Blizzard Plug-In:
Bluster Plug-In
And then, there is....
Be still, my beating heart.
Behold:
I am IN LOVE with this Joy to the World Silhouette!
I mean it. I love this one!
Seasonal scents I enjoy: Cinnamon Bear, Clove & Cinnamon, Central Park Pralines, Cozy Fireside, Honey Pear Cider, French Toast, Pumpkin Roll.
"Favorite" scents that I actually like (you'll notice that I have a definite preference for the spiced seasonal scents over the plain jane stuff that you can get all year round): Clean Breeze, Perfectly Pomegranate.
And there you have it. The link to Christian's page. A glowing endorsement for the cause that the fundraiser supports. (Just cracked myself up.) And a personalized guide through my favorite pieces listed in the Holiday Collection.
Buy up, folks. Buy. Up. ... The party will close on September 30th.
Ready... Set... SHOP!
Friday, September 21, 2012
September 21
Do you know what I love to get in the mail?
An itemized hospital bill.
I'm not kidding. It's pretty much the Holy Grail of lists, with all those details and dollar amounts (and we all know how I do love me a good list).
Here are some fun numbers for you:
Anesthesia: $24,577.00
Pulmonary Func: $3,960.00
Sterile Supply: $11,360.70
Intermediate Care: $3,925.00
OR Services: $47,057.00
Pharmacy: $5,197.80
Urology: $220.00
Blood/Stor-Proc: $770.00
Anesthesia was worth every penny. (And would have been worth even more, I am sure, had the epidural worked!)
I'm not sure what that second charge was, but I'm pretty sure "pulmonary" means lungs and breathing is worth $4,000 to me, easy.
Sterile supply? To me, that means bandages. I have to think that means something slightly different to the hospital, because I can't imagine that it cost that much to staple, sew and bandage me back together. (And I while I will be the first to brag to the world that I came out of this last surgery with four - count them, four! - new binders, I'm quite confident that the street price for Doctor Ordered Spanx is nowhere near $4,000 apiece.)
Intermediate Care = ICU. I thought that number would be fun to include, for any of you who've ever wondered how much it cost to spend one night in the ICU.
That was the longest - and most expensive - surgery I hope to ever have. Amen.
I. Heart. Drugs. (Interestingly enough, there's a separate charge titled drugs/detail code. I'm happy to pay for pain pills any and every way they want to charge me. Not a problem.)
Yup. Urology. ... I can only assume this is the infamous pregnancy test that I am required to take each and every time I'm admitted. They can never take my word for it when I say, "Seriously. There is NO WAY that I am pregnant." Oh, well. At least it was cheaper than processing/storing blood, whatever that means. (I literally just gagged, thinking about it.)
And would you like to know what else I love?
Insurance.
As much as I may murmur and mumble under my breath about how "the out-of-pocket maximum is so NOT the literal maximum you'll ever pay out of your own pocket", I am grateful for insurance. So, so, soooooo grateful for insurance, because there is no way I could have ever paid the full bill on my own.
Especially when this is what I'm bringing home these days:
Yup. That is my most recent paycheck. Hilarious, no? I literally laughed - OUT LOUD - when I saw that paystub.
In defense of my piddly check, that pay period included Labor Day weekend (read: the Utah excursion), so I was out for the five day weekend. Between working reduced hours and not working for three of ten days in a pay period, that check was pretty pathetic.
The one (and I do mean one) upside of going back to work full time will be bringing home a full 80 hour check again. In the meanwhile, I'm just gonna focus on being grateful that I have insurance that cut a very (VERY!) considerable chunk of that hospital bill for me.
An itemized hospital bill.
I'm not kidding. It's pretty much the Holy Grail of lists, with all those details and dollar amounts (and we all know how I do love me a good list).
Here are some fun numbers for you:
Anesthesia: $24,577.00
Pulmonary Func: $3,960.00
Sterile Supply: $11,360.70
Intermediate Care: $3,925.00
OR Services: $47,057.00
Pharmacy: $5,197.80
Urology: $220.00
Blood/Stor-Proc: $770.00
Anesthesia was worth every penny. (And would have been worth even more, I am sure, had the epidural worked!)
I'm not sure what that second charge was, but I'm pretty sure "pulmonary" means lungs and breathing is worth $4,000 to me, easy.
Sterile supply? To me, that means bandages. I have to think that means something slightly different to the hospital, because I can't imagine that it cost that much to staple, sew and bandage me back together. (And I while I will be the first to brag to the world that I came out of this last surgery with four - count them, four! - new binders, I'm quite confident that the street price for Doctor Ordered Spanx is nowhere near $4,000 apiece.)
Intermediate Care = ICU. I thought that number would be fun to include, for any of you who've ever wondered how much it cost to spend one night in the ICU.
That was the longest - and most expensive - surgery I hope to ever have. Amen.
I. Heart. Drugs. (Interestingly enough, there's a separate charge titled drugs/detail code. I'm happy to pay for pain pills any and every way they want to charge me. Not a problem.)
Yup. Urology. ... I can only assume this is the infamous pregnancy test that I am required to take each and every time I'm admitted. They can never take my word for it when I say, "Seriously. There is NO WAY that I am pregnant." Oh, well. At least it was cheaper than processing/storing blood, whatever that means. (I literally just gagged, thinking about it.)
And would you like to know what else I love?
Insurance.
As much as I may murmur and mumble under my breath about how "the out-of-pocket maximum is so NOT the literal maximum you'll ever pay out of your own pocket", I am grateful for insurance. So, so, soooooo grateful for insurance, because there is no way I could have ever paid the full bill on my own.
Especially when this is what I'm bringing home these days:
Yup. That is my most recent paycheck. Hilarious, no? I literally laughed - OUT LOUD - when I saw that paystub.
In defense of my piddly check, that pay period included Labor Day weekend (read: the Utah excursion), so I was out for the five day weekend. Between working reduced hours and not working for three of ten days in a pay period, that check was pretty pathetic.
The one (and I do mean one) upside of going back to work full time will be bringing home a full 80 hour check again. In the meanwhile, I'm just gonna focus on being grateful that I have insurance that cut a very (VERY!) considerable chunk of that hospital bill for me.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
September 19 - Evening
I came home from the grocery store tonight and saw this as I turned the corner and came around to the stairs leading up to my apartment:
That's right. It's a bouquet of flowers. (What you can't see is that they were standing up against my door, in a water bottle that had been cut in half. That's my bad for having poor photography skillz.)
As I walked up the stairs, I noticed that there were little pink spots all over my door:
How sweet are my brother Spencer and his wife, Brea? I love them!
Here, I'll show you a smattering of the notes up close:
That's right. It's a bouquet of flowers. (What you can't see is that they were standing up against my door, in a water bottle that had been cut in half. That's my bad for having poor photography skillz.)
As I walked up the stairs, I noticed that there were little pink spots all over my door:
How sweet are my brother Spencer and his wife, Brea? I love them!
Here, I'll show you a smattering of the notes up close:
I love them.
Honestly, I have the most incredible family. And the most incredible friends. ... And have come into contact with the most incredible strangers over the past few months.
I am surrounded by good and kind and loving people.
I am amazed.
In semi-related news, I put another batch of Thank You notes in the mail again today. (There goes another book of stamps!)
Speaking of being surrounded by the most incredible family, friend and (former) strangers, I sent cards out in to world to:
Utah
Rhode Island
Arkansas
Maryland
Nevada
Pennsylvania
Idaho
Colorado
Georgia
California
And, again, my own hometown and the greater Phoenix area
That was the end of my PayPal Thank You cards. (Yeah, I've categorized my Thank You's. I had to, otherwise it was too overwhelming.)
I thought it would be interesting to note that, among the PayPal donations I've received in the last three months, almost half of them came from people who've never met me. Twenty-one of forty-seven donations came from names I had never heard before I sent a plea for help out into the Universe on June 16th. As I have told many of you, I always knew that my friends were incredible, generous, kind and loving people. It turns out that the friends of my friends are no less awesome than my friends are.
It has been such an overwhelming exercise in gratitude and humility, to see and feel such an outpouring of love over the past few months. I have sent mail out to three foreign countries, and I'm gonna guess half of the 50 states.
People are good, and I love them.
September 19
It was the crack heard around the world, I am pretty sure.
I've been wearing my binder (again) since last week when PT advised that I get a really wide Ace bandage to wrap my lower back with, lest I hurt myself any more while I was sleeping. (I figured, why buy a 10 inch Ace bandage when I am the proud owner of six - count them, six - abdominal binders from prior surgeries?)
So, I've been wearing my binder to bed. On Saturday, I did something to my stomach that has had me hoping against hope that it's just a pulled muscle or overcompensation against my back not working. (Read: The right side of my stomach has felt like I am coming apart at the seams - literally. And what I do NOT want/need in my life is another hernia, thanks.) The abdominal pain led me to wear my binder pretty much all day Sunday. Monday, I took it off to go to work for five hours and almost died from the pain. I came home and put it right back on. Yesterday morning, I got up, got dressed, strapped it on and went to work. I came home, hotter than you can imagine. (Five layers, people. One of them being a 10 inch wide band of elastic pressed right up against my body. All day long.) But it was worth it, because not once yesterday did I feel like my insides were trying to push through my outsides. I didn't take it off for even a minute yesterday. All day and night long, I kept myself wrapped up like a little sausage.
This morning, I got out of bed, happy not to have any immediate abdominal pain on first movement. Headed for the shower, I ripped off the velcro keeping myself held together and that's when I heard (and felt it)...
CRACK!
And... there went my back.
Last week, it was a musculature issue. Now, it's a bone issue.
Fan-freaking-tastic. (By which I mean: Craptastic!)
My birthday is next month. Do you think someone might get me a new body?
I've been wearing my binder (again) since last week when PT advised that I get a really wide Ace bandage to wrap my lower back with, lest I hurt myself any more while I was sleeping. (I figured, why buy a 10 inch Ace bandage when I am the proud owner of six - count them, six - abdominal binders from prior surgeries?)
So, I've been wearing my binder to bed. On Saturday, I did something to my stomach that has had me hoping against hope that it's just a pulled muscle or overcompensation against my back not working. (Read: The right side of my stomach has felt like I am coming apart at the seams - literally. And what I do NOT want/need in my life is another hernia, thanks.) The abdominal pain led me to wear my binder pretty much all day Sunday. Monday, I took it off to go to work for five hours and almost died from the pain. I came home and put it right back on. Yesterday morning, I got up, got dressed, strapped it on and went to work. I came home, hotter than you can imagine. (Five layers, people. One of them being a 10 inch wide band of elastic pressed right up against my body. All day long.) But it was worth it, because not once yesterday did I feel like my insides were trying to push through my outsides. I didn't take it off for even a minute yesterday. All day and night long, I kept myself wrapped up like a little sausage.
This morning, I got out of bed, happy not to have any immediate abdominal pain on first movement. Headed for the shower, I ripped off the velcro keeping myself held together and that's when I heard (and felt it)...
CRACK!
And... there went my back.
Last week, it was a musculature issue. Now, it's a bone issue.
Fan-freaking-tastic. (By which I mean: Craptastic!)
My birthday is next month. Do you think someone might get me a new body?
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
September 18
This afternoon at work, I was at Christian's desk, going over files, when she reached across the counter and swiped something onto the ground. Startled, I asked, "Did you just swipe a hair onto the floor? Am I shedding on your desk now?!" ... She responded, "Well, yes. But it was only one hair."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
I was standing a foot away from her desk. I was not making wild arm gestures. There was no wind to blow my hair about. I am just losing so flipping much hair that it is literally falling out of my head and off of my body.
As we were talking about my hair loss, I ran my hands across the bottom of my hair and got enough to roll into a ball about the size of a golf ball. This was not the first time I'd done the pull-the-loose-hairs-from-the-bottom-of-my-hair routine this morning, folks. It was the third time. (And this is just pulling at the tips of my hair to get what has already fallen out. Heaven forbid I run my hand through my hair and finger-comb it out. Who knows how much hair I'd get if I were to do that?! ... Not to mention, I seem to take some kind of moral issue with excessive hair brushing. For such a girly girl, I am not one who is wont to take a brush to her hair.)
Tonight, I ran a couple loads of laundry. As I pulled my whites out of the dryer, I remembered that I needed to clean the lint screen. Check it I did, and the filter came out more brown than white. Very little lint. Tons o' hair brown, curly hair.
Good heavens!
I wasn't kidding when I said that I am helping birds build nests. Honestly.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
I was standing a foot away from her desk. I was not making wild arm gestures. There was no wind to blow my hair about. I am just losing so flipping much hair that it is literally falling out of my head and off of my body.
As we were talking about my hair loss, I ran my hands across the bottom of my hair and got enough to roll into a ball about the size of a golf ball. This was not the first time I'd done the pull-the-loose-hairs-from-the-bottom-of-my-hair routine this morning, folks. It was the third time. (And this is just pulling at the tips of my hair to get what has already fallen out. Heaven forbid I run my hand through my hair and finger-comb it out. Who knows how much hair I'd get if I were to do that?! ... Not to mention, I seem to take some kind of moral issue with excessive hair brushing. For such a girly girl, I am not one who is wont to take a brush to her hair.)
Tonight, I ran a couple loads of laundry. As I pulled my whites out of the dryer, I remembered that I needed to clean the lint screen. Check it I did, and the filter came out more brown than white. Very little lint. Tons o' hair brown, curly hair.
Good heavens!
I wasn't kidding when I said that I am helping birds build nests. Honestly.
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