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10.31.2005



Sappiness


Tomorrow I have to go back to the hospital for a surgery. The doctors are going to take all the staples out of my head and my knee, take my cast off my ankle, take the pins out of my ankle (and put more in if it's not healed enough yet), pull my fibula back to where it's supposed to be and put a screw in, and put a new cast on my ankle. It sounds like a lot but they're all pretty small procedures. They could take out the staples and pins while I'm awake, but I'm pretty glad I'm going to be under general anesthesia for everything. I'm feeling kind of nervous for the surgery but I'm not really sure why. Like I said, they're small procedures - nothing to be worried about. And I shouldn't be nervous, because I'm so excited to get my staples out. They itch like crazy! Since I got yelled at for scratching my staples, I have developed this habit of lightly rubbing my hair over where my staples are when they're bothering me (or when I'm uncomfortable, or just bored). I'll have to kick that habit, but not quite yet, because my short hair just feels so cool.

I just got an email from a girl who has been in contact with me since the accident. She's a student here at UWEC who was once involved in a bad accident. We don't know eachother, but she emailed me initially to reach out and tell me she knows what I'm going through. If I've learned anything through this accident, it's how amazing people can be. Like Adrienne said during our conversation yesterday, this situation has shown everyone's true colors. I can't even begin to list all of the cool things that people have done, but here are some examples:
The band parents were wonderful. They quickly, calmly and professionally set up a network of information and support. One of them created a webpage to keep everyone else updated, complete with guestbooks for those who were killed and those of us who were injured.
My brother and his girlfriend drove from WY to be by my side. Tenley was my nurse once I came home from the hospital, even doing icky things like putting goop on my staples for me! And they brought their dog Bumble. Who can't be happy with a dog named Bumble wandering around?
All the visits, the flowers, the gifts, emails, etc. - I can't tell you how much all this has helped me.
My parents are awesome.
The kids I teach... They've come to visit me quite a few times now and it's made me so happy.
Raji, as always, has been great. Playing Gamecube with him and the Stenners is always a highlight of the day. And it's funny because we're both gimps.
The Stenners have been so awesome, driving Raji around whenever he needs to be somewhere. After the accident, I think Jason took the entire week off work to be with Raji and me.
I also really appreciate UWEC's music department. Some people bitch about the music department being so small and clique-y, but it's an atmosphere that helps so much during difficult times.

Yeah, I've got a lot to be happy about. Or sappy, depending on how you want to look at it... ;)

10.30.2005



It's official: I'm a dork.


I decided to start a blog. Why? I guess now I actually have things to write about. Yeah, now that I'm laying in bed all day, my life is interesting. Or more interesting than it was, anyway... Also, writing a blog will probably help me deal with this emotionally and blah blah blah.

When I have more ambition, I'll probably fill in the story as to why I'm stuck in bed all day. If you're reading this, you already know what's going on anyway.

So... I feel old because today my legs are cramping up and I'm feeling restless. My dad told me to try and move around a little bit, so i got my walker out and clomped around the house a little. As of last week I am now 23 - and I'm using a walker, suffering from insomnia, and taking enough pills to firmly place me in the geriatric demographic. I'd say my lack of hair also makes me look like a balding grandma - except that the half-shaved, half-long hair thing I have going on, along with the staples, makes me look kind of punk or something.

My mom and I looked over some of my school stuff this morning to try and form a gameplan for the rest of the semester. I'm hoping to be back at school by mid- to late-November. I don't want to drop any of my classes, because I still want to graduate in May. This semester was going to be all about taking the GRE and applying for grad schools, but I don't think there' s any way that can happen now. I don't know if I'm going to take a semester off after graduating or what... I'd rather not think that far ahead, it's depressing. Anyway, if i work my butt off, I should probably be able to at least pass this semester. It's going to be hard since the painkillers make my brain fuzzy. So much for my goal of getting straight A's.

Other things that happened today: Adrienne and Matt came by to visit, which was really nice. Later, the Stenners stopped by and brought Raji over. I worked on flexing my knee a little bit - it's not going very well... but I'll keep working on it.