Joanie took me to return the wheelchair yesterday. This is a step in the right direction. Yee haw! We celebrated at Brigham's....yummy!

Took "the Ride" this morning. My driver was ten minutes early and listened to Howard Stern the whole way. Fortunately I was not offended....but some other folks could be. I read my Bitch Magazine and laughed at the contrast.

I'm wearing a Red Sox baseball cap today...Go Sox! It's shower day....I'm an every other day showerer these days.......and I'm torn about what to do. To wear the cap in the office...or not. Ahh....what an issue. I will be glad when I can go back to showering everyday. Sorry if this is too much info.

Spoke with Carolyn last night.......she is coming to visit in a few weeks.......yee haw! I saw her a little over a year ago when I was in DC. We went ice skating in the sculpture garden in front of NARA. We won't be doing any skating this time around.

Did anyone see Law & order: Criminal Intent last night? The murderer was an archivist.

I spoke with my Mom for a bit last night. She told me about the ct scan she had the other day. They are trying to find out why she is experienceing abdominal pain. It is probably a hernia. If it is a hernia there isn't much they can do right now. I hope they will be able to make her feel more comfortable.

Mom told me that she worked six hours total during the month of September. Things have been rough.

A friend who reads this blog recently asked me about the definition of a "stoma." My Mom has a temporary stoma and I'm frequently mentioning it.
Medterms.com defines it as the following:

"Stoma: An opening into the body from the outside created by a surgeon."

My Mom attaches her colostomy bag to her stoma.......enough said.

I spoke with my friend Heather last night. Heather and I met while we were at Northeastern University. We were both RA's on the same floor in Smith Hall. She currently lives in Pennsylvania.....I miss her tons...she is totally cool. She's one of those people I don't speak with often...but when we do it's like nothing has changed......we just pick up from where we left off and continue on.

Had a great weekend. Went to the Beantown Jazz festival...rented a couple of movies........had dinner......ate brunch..and consumed ice cream with different folks.

I am scheduled to see the orthopedic surgeon four weeks from today....thats a month. I'm so done with the broken leg. Argh...................it has been two months......thats two out of 363 months of my life. Enough of my complaining....

I was interviewed by a woman doing her Master thesis on the culture of adult chidlren of the mentally ill last Sunday. It was interesting speaking with her. It was nice to hear someone elses story and be able to share my own. I had never really spoken with another person with a similar experience before. I felt someone validated in my feelings.

My friend Kristen just got back from Iceland.........her pictures are beautiful. Looks like they had fun.

Cyn and Mike are proposing a group trip to Scotland.............this does not include their honeymoon.

I have to run.......we are going to a tea training/tasting tonight. I am getting ready for the silver needle and pu erh teas. I'm not a big green or white tea drinker.......but I'm sure there will be some that I like.

I was just reading about the latest snakehead fish sighting. Any fish that can grow to three feet long and walk on the earth is scary.

I took the Ride home today. My driver was 45 minutes early.....but told me he would wait. My driver was very nice this time......he told me all about life in Uganda...and what he liked to do for fun (i.e. movies, fish etc.).

I think I might have twisted my knee a bit getting out of the Ride van. I should really take it easy.

We had an Open House at work today. My math teacher from high school was there. What a small world.

My friend Joanie drove me home yesterday from work....she is very good to me. She compared our ride home yesterday to driving through a car wash. I think that's a great description.

My doctor told me that I only needed to go to physical therapy two times a week until I can put 100% of my weight on it. Yee haw!

Only a month left until I can probably put 100% of my weight on my leg.

I took the ride to work this morning. I called yesterday and informed them that I wanted to be at work by 8:00 a.m. I called them last night and they told me that I was scheduled for a 6:55 a.m. pick up. This seemed WAY early to me..it only takes a half hour to get to work. So.....I got up early this morning and got ready for work. At 6:40 a.m. the bell rang...it was the Ride. The driver said...."your ride is here." I said..."You weren't supposed to be here for 15 minutes." I eventually made my way downstairs and got to work 50 minutes earlier then I had hoped. The moral of the story.......expect the Ride to be either 15 minutes early or late. My driver was nice.....but I caught him picking his nose on the way.

What a day......I worked from home for an hour or so....and then went off to physical therapy. I finally got into work at around 11:30 a.m. I worked pretty muc non stop before it was time to go home. Of course the second we leave it decided to pour rain. Visibility was terrible...and we could barely see on the way home. Then...the scary part came. I had to get out of the car...in the horizontal rain...and get into my apartment safely. I managed to do this by drying my crutches off on the rug on the 1st floor. My crutch only slightly slipped once. I made it into my apartment only to find all the windows open........and water everywhere. Argh! I closed the windows and cleaned up as much as I could.

I spoke with my mom last night. She said that she has decided not to return to work until she is finished with her radiation. I believe she has two weeks left. She was having a hard time with the chemo and radiation. I hope she will feel better when the radiation ends and that this is not a progressive thing.

The latest news on my mom is that her surgeon thinks that she has a hernia. I believe this is something that can happen during surgery. One would think so.....with all that poking around the abdomen and such. Unfortunately she has had some pain as a result.

Aside from that I think she is getting tired (physically and emotionally) with the whole chemo radiation combo. I hope she will feel better whne the radiation ends. It should be only a few more weeks of radiation.

I took "the ride" again yesterday. No one called to confrim my pickup...and the driver was a half hour late. However...this experience was better. I could get up the stairs to get into the van. AND...the driver wasn't praising God during my drive...well at least not out loud.

I saw a good film on WGBH last night. It was called Blue Diner. The film is about the relationship between a Puerto Rican woman...and her daughter...and the issues that impact their lives. I would like to add that the film takes place in Boston and some of the scenes were filmed at the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Boston Public Library....both of which I recognized. WAY COOL! I should also note that the film takes place in and around a Boston landmark...the Blue Diner.

I took "the Ride" for the first time yesterday...what an experience. First of all...I called them to request a 6:30 p.m. pickup. They called and said they would pick me up at 7:00 p.m. Then...they were 20 minutes late. The driver opened the door of the wheelchair van...and the stairs were too narrow for me to get in with my crutches....so I had to use the wheelchair lift. SO...here I am.....standing up....and holding on for dear life....as I am raised into the van. This was scary and embarrassing all at the same time. Then the whole ride home...the driver is singing...and raising one hand......and getting really into this Haitian music. I finally realized it was praise music when he started to say "Hallelujah!" at the end of a line here and there. I was by myself in the van...and got a little chuckle out of the whole experience. I am taking "the Ride" home tomorrow evening too...I wonder if it will be as memorable.

I went to see the doctor today. The appointment took way long then I had expected. The x-ray technician was late.....my doctor was late. I finally got to see the doctor one hour after my initial appointment time. He said that my bone had shifted a bit....but that I had formed a callous. He is allowing me to put 50% of my weight on my broken leg...and I am to see him in six weeks. As far as I know I still cannot drive...I am going to call him to make 100% sure of this...I forgot to ask in my appointment. Oh.....and of course I am to wear my brace all the time............I am only allowed to take it off when I wash.

Argh...so I was a mess after my appointment. I should try to be positive and excited about the fact that I can put some weight on it....but...I'm a little fixated on the six week.........bone shifting.......no driving aspect.

I need a new attitude!

Today is the birthday of my cousin Kevin....and my friend Steph. Happy Birthday to them!

I would like to acknowledge the folks who have been so great about getting me back and forth to work...and to my appointments. I feel lucky to have such great people in my life. Brenda, Carol, Cynthia, Joanie, and Kathi have all been wonderful about driving me around the city.....back and forth to Somerville, Cambridge and Waltham. Thanks!

My mom called me yesterday to tell me about the Colossal Colon that is coming to Copley Square in Boston on October 15-18, 2003. The Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation website describes the Colossal Colon as the following.

The Colossal Colon is a 40-foot long, 4-foot high replica of a human colon. Visitors who crawl through the colon, or look through the viewing windows, will see healthy colon tissue, colon disease, polyps and various stages of colon cancer. The Colon was modeled after a real colon taken from colonoscopy film footage and is extremely lifelike.

Sounds cool right? I'm bummed out that I probably won't be able to crawl through the colon by that point. Maybe I'll just go and show my support.

And......the most recent broken leg developments are.......I started wearing a shoe on the foot of my broken leg. It felt all cramped at first. My physical therapist said I should get used to wearing a shoe again. Today was my first full day with a shoe. Maybe I'll start training for the Boston Marathon. Hmm...I don't think so....I think running is kinda boring.

Ok so....what's new in my medically challenged life....

Yesterday my Mom had radiation in the morning and chemo in the afternoon. In the middle of all of this she managed to buy me some tickets for "the Ride" and go shopping. She is a strong lady to withstand.......burning, the MBTA, the craziness of the city, and poison all in one day.

I went to pt today. My physical therapist decided to increase my exercises by adding ankle weights to my broken leg. I complained that she was being mean...because I have no threshold for pain...and she quickly came back with "well your body weighs alot more then those three pound weights." Ok...so I was put in my place. Hopefully a week from tomorrow my octor will finally give me the blessing to put 50% of my body weight onto my broken....hopefully not still broken by then leg. I really...really hope he lets me....I'm so done with the crutches.

I worked from home today. I registered some people for workshops...assembled a mailing...and created a PowerPoint presentation on functional records management. After five hours of working on the coutch...I decided to try and move the computer. I somehow managed to get the laptop from the living room to the bedroom without breaking either it or myself. Ah....risks.

I spoke with a college friend last night. We do not talk often...but when we do it is always fun. It was nice to catch up with her.

I went into the office today. I decided to wear pants for the first time since I broke my leg. My co-worker was very good to pick me up this morning and drive me to work. The problem......it was raining this morning....hard!!! So.......I was soaked by the time we go to her car. My cotton cargo pants..........and wheelchair were all...cold and wet. When I first got here I transferred to an office chair for a little while. I eventually moved back to the wheelchair after it dried. The problem is that....my butt really hasn't had too much time to dry. It's not soaked...but there is definately a little dampness going on.

Everytime I log onto Blogger the interface looks different. I cannot tell if its my browser...or if blogger just changes everyday. ARGH!

We took my mother out to celebrate her birthday the other night. We went to the Elephant Walk..it was yummy. I bought her a cd walkman...figuring she could listen to it at chemo.....but come to find out she already had one. I think she is planning on exchanging it for something else.

I went to pt today. My physical therapist said that when I had started bending my knee I was at 84 degrees....now I'm at 106....yee haw.

I worked from home today. I definately get more done when I work at home.

Yesterday I slipped in the kitchen at work. There was some water on the floor..and my crutch slipped. I put some weight on my leg....but I think it's ok. My knee appears to be working correctly.....and I don't have any more pain then usual.