My Days

There's not too much new to report here...my days are basically made up of the same few elements. I feel pretty contented most of the time--it's only after long droughts of alone time that I begin to get discouraged. But there have been lots of people who have called, emailed or come over just at the right time, and then I become a little more sane. Sitting on a couch all day is HARD! Not just emotionally, but physically too. My back is starting to hurt a little bit from sitting in this position for so many hours a day...I'll have to figure out a way to change position a little more. I can get up and around better on my crutches now, but still that's just for a two or three minute stretch, and then I'm back on my throne again.

I just finished the book "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott. I love reading her writing--there's an honesty there that I wish more writers could have.

The results of my eBay shopping spree are now beginning to trickle in...yesterday Keb' Mo' and Natalie Merchant came, along with the book "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks. That's the next one on my list to read.

The knitting is going well...I'm nearly done with my first scarf, and then I'll try my hand at a hat or something a little more complicated.

Jenn's coming over soon with my favorite Vito's Deli sandwich--fresh mutz (mozz?), tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar on a hard roll. Yum. It's hard to believe that I never knew about fresh mozzarella until moving to Hoboken...or maybe it's easy to believe, considering I didn't have much interaction with first (or even second or third) generation Italian immigrants until moving here.

Physical Therapy: Ten things

1. Finding the building turned out to be a little more difficult than Yahoo!Maps or Mapquest predicted--due to some one-way streets and buildings without front doors on the street that their address was listed on....and I could go on. But thanks to Katie Suter's mad driving skills, I made it in (albeit through the back door), went through the gym, through some hallways, and to the front desk, which actually was at the other door--which we discovered later. My physical therapy appointment was NOT at Caldwell Banker (our first stop) or Delta Orthopedics (although we were getting warmer)...but at....

2. Strulowitz & Gargiulo: One of which is dead (the Strulowitz one) and the other of which I saw once, walking past in the hall. I guess it's a good sign that he trusts his physical therapists enough that he doesn't have to check on them...I thought it would be like the dentist, where you get a cleaning done by the hygienist, then Doc comes in to check it out. Anyway, my PT, whose name was Susan, was great and encouraging and everything I could ask for in a PT. However, she was busy with another patient at the beginning of my appointment, so I got to wait in an...


3. Exam room that definitely hadn't been redecorated since, oh, about 1990. Which is fine--it wasn't in bad shape...just ugly...so why waste resources if you don't have to, I guess. It definitely keeps my costs down, for which I'm grateful. Some notable things about the room:

4. One of the very first Macintosh computers to roll out of the MacFactory, apparently...judging from the miniscule size of the screen and the much newer looking disk drive for 5.25 inch floppies. Also, on the wall across the hallway was...

5. A poster advertising the 1991-1992 Duke Basketball team. It was one of those "Inspirational" posters that's supposed to motivate people receiving therapy to...I don't know...push beyond all limits or something like that.

6. When Susan came back, she tested my mobility/flexibility and told me I was AWESOME. And I am AWESOME because I've been doing my range of motion exercises for the past four weeks...and most people with tibia fractures just sit and let their joints get stiff. So I guess the additional pain and swelling was worth it--Susan said that I was way ahead of schedule. AWESOME!

7. My exercises: Back and forth ankle bends. (30 reps) Ankle circles clockwise (30 reps) and counterclockwise (30 reps). Full leg lifts (10 reps, hold each for 5 seconds). Half leg lifts. Draw heel to thigh. And one more which is sort of hard to explain but involves tightening my quads.

8. Game Ready, a marvelous invention that ices, compresses, and massages my leg for 15 minutes...it's hooked up to a machine that pulsates every few minutes. Nice. Although my leg was frozen and is still a bit tingly.

9. Thanks to Oxford, I can have up to 30 PT appointments covered this year. Yay!

10. Scheduled one of the 29 I have left for Thursday at 1:15...as long as Dr. Augustin approves. I have an appointment with him tomorrow. Susan says that if Dr. A gives permission, we can go ahead and push past my level of comfort and really stretch my limits. Whoopee. I can hardly wait.

A Month of Sundays

It's been four weeks since my sledding accident, and soon I will be able to say that I have had a "month of Sundays"--that is, a month in which every day has been a Sabbath--a day of rest. A lot of people would love to experience that--but it's a different story when one actually has to spend each day on one's bottom. However, every day spent on my bottom is another day my leg spends healing, so there you have it. No complaints here.

Today being a Sunday in Lent, I allowed myself a "Feast Day"...I just finished a piece of chocolate cake. A family from school dropped off 10 huge pieces of chocolate cake from Panera Bread on Friday,..so I had to eat at least one, rather than be have to tell the family that I never ate any of it. It's pretty amazing stuff...and I tell you, chocolate cake with cold milk is close to heaven on earth.

My family probably remembers the time when I did NOT like chocolate cake with chocolate frosting--it had to be chocolate cake with white frosting or white/yellow cake with chocolate frosting--not both chocolate under any circumstances. However, now I LIVE for chocolate. So it's probably a good thing that I gave it up for Lent. Now I can find out what I really have to live for. :-)

Other exciting things that happened today:

~Mr. Jason Battaglia came over for breakfast, bearing more tasty treats from Panera Bread, interesting newspaper articles, the 500 greatest poems of all time, and a Joshua Bell CD.

~I watched 3 Ray VanderLaan segments from Faith Lessons on the Death and Resurrection of the Messiah

~I went on an eBay shopping spree and bought CD's by: Natalie Merchant, The Cowboy Junkies, The Indigo Girls, and The Vigilantes of Love.

~I can KNIT! No mistakes, no added or subtracted stitches, and 18 rows finished. Yay!

I can cast on!

I spent the better part of an hour today learning how to "cast on"--which (for you non-knitters out there) means to put the yarn on the knitting needle so that you can continue to knit. I've practiced and practiced, and I do believe that I am ready to start adding stitches to the yarn that has already been cast on.

(It's about time--Jeanne gave me the knitting needles and yarn two weeks ago and I just opened them today. Just lazy I guess.)

In other news, Alden came over for the morning. He has a sinus infection, and his parents didn't think it was wise for him to go with his class on a field trip to The Gates. Sooo...this meant that I had to wake up early (8:00 AM, oh my!) which of course I didn't mind doing, because, well, let's be honest...I can sleep all afternoon if I want to. We watched The Terminal, and then played a heart-pounding and competitive game of "Sorry!" Alden beat me by a nose--we were both just waiting for a "one" card.

And Happy Birthday, Mary Beth!!!

Like a Load of Bricks.

So I had a bit of a mishap today--I'm home alone, and I was on my crutches trying to get from the living room to the kitchen to get myself some breakfast...and on the way, one of my crutches slipped on a paper bag that was on the floor. A good percentage of my weight came down on my bad leg (my subconscious must have thought I was healthy and whole) and boy, did it hurt. Fortunately, nobody was sleeping, or they would have woken up immediately. Fortunately also, it doesn't really hurt anymore....it's a little sore but I'm pretty sure no lasting damage was done. (If it was, I'd be in great pain, right? right.)

This morning: watched Bend it Like Beckham, set up my first physical therapy appointment, and started reading Naked by David Sedaris. And now I'm off to eat some pierogies, thoughtfully provided by Abby Liu.

Third Tuesday of the Month

Yesterday was a day of movies capped off by a trip to The Goldhawk for Third Tuesday, a Hoboken Redeemer Presbyterian Church event. Basically, Redeemerites gather in the back room to listen to other Redeemerites and friends play some great jazz, folk, rock, and blues. There's a lot of talent at Redeemer!

So after I watched America's Sweethearts (chick flick), The Red Violin (artsy flick) and Ocean's Eleven (action/heist flick), I went in Rick's "sleek and low slung" car (for sale if anyone's interested! And really, that's how he's advertising it..."sleek and low slung"...) to the Goldhawk down in Hoboken.

It was good to get out of the house, and as I'm getting better and better on crutches, I only almost fell once (on the stairs, which would have been bad, but I was right next to a pillar and got my balance back), besides I had a spotter in front of me.

The Goldhawk was great as always, with couches and cushioned chairs galore, so that I could properly elevate the ol' leg. It was great to see the Redeemer crowd to catch up. Although...the crowd was pretty small (Knowles, I'm looking at you! Where were you?). And, an added bonus: I'm no longer on pain meds, so I could enjoy the beverage offerings.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I received love notes from many admirers (of course, they're all between the ages of 6 and 8...) and a Valentine's pizza, bought and paid for by and shared with ZoeGrace (a student of mine) and her mom and brother Sam.

And then, at 6:30, the Pedulla family (a family in my neighborhood) came bearing red tulips. Strange, that they should bring tulips, because one of the topics of discussion over the past few days in our household has been "Calvinism", and I've had to pull out the ol' TULIP acronym.

Anyway, the Pedullas also brought black bean soup, cornbread, and Valentine-making supplies. So we all broke out our creative abilities, and made Valentines for each other. It was quite a challenge, since we had only three pairs of scissors for 7 people, and two rolls of tape. But we made do.

The Finished Product

finished product
Originally uploaded by grbecca.

I know, I know...I'm not a product...but here I am, minus 3 and a half inches of hair. Stephanie's happy, Vickie's happy, Cynthia's happy, Kathryn's happy, Carolyn's happy...(women who came to Women with Scissors simply to become observers of the Woman with Scissors) Am I happy? Time will tell...I never can make a decision about a haircut until I get used to it.

Woman with Scissors

during
Originally uploaded by grbecca.

So, Women with Scissors, which is a scrapbooking/knitting/ sewing/anything crafty evening, turned into simply Woman (Stephanie) with Scissors. I allowed her to have her way with my hair. Mistake? Well, she is an expert....

Tomato Soup on the Ground. :-(

So, I thought I was independent. I THOUGHT I could get things for myself. But no. I've been thwarted by Tupperware that doesn't stay closed, and found myself helpless once again with a backpack full of Neal Wilkens' tomato soup. Needless to say, I was glad Vickie was here to come to my aid. Even I draw the line at walking around with tomato soup dripping down my back. There ARE limits to the amount of trouble I will go through in order to be "independent".

In other news, I've decided to give up walking for Lent. (OK, OK, that's not really a choice...) I'm also giving up chocolate. Which is too bad, because somehow word has gotten around that I love Oreos (which I absolutely do) and now I won't be able to eat any of the Oreos that have been so generously given.

Through the Wilderness

From N.T. Wright's "For All God's Worth":

"We are summoned, again and again, to be found by God where he has promised to meet us, that is, in the wilderness. It's lonely in the wilderness. Most of us aren't equipped for it. We like our world populated, and our creature comforts close at hand. Even when we choose solitude, we people it with books, music, and pictures; if we don't have them to hand, we retain them in our hearts. Most of us haven't even really begun to strip away the busyness and overpopulation of our mental furniture and to enter the wilderness where...we are alone, exposed, naked.

But when we do find ourselves there, which may happen to any of us at any time, we find two figures to tell us the way.
Isaiah and John the Baptist remind us that when we find ourselves in exile, at a loss, frightened, anxious beyond anxiety, crushed by our circumstances, our surroundings, our sin--then we are summoned to hear a fresh word of comfort.

The doctrine of the Trinity is not meant to be a part of a forbidding set of dogmas, however true those dogmas are. It is a doctrine of comfort, of healing and forgiveness; of waiting for the Lord, and discovering him to be, as we go out to face an unknown future, the one who gives power to the faint."

I found that this passage (among many others--in fact I have not read a book in a long time that has spoken to me in so many different instances and ways) assured me of God's presence in this time of recovery. I've been so focused on "filling up" the times of solitude that perhaps I'm missing the time of listening to God's voice, worshiping God for God's love, and knowing God's comfort.

I think that we as members of society tend to be afraid of solitude--I know that I see it as a threat to me, as if I wasn't loved. So my prayer/goal is that I view the alone times as a gift, not a curse.

However, that being said, keep those emails/phone calls/visits coming!!! (Fickle me. )

Samuel's First Birthday

samuel's first birthday
Originally uploaded by grbecca.

I was absent from the festivities, but am participating vicariously through pictures of the celebration, provided generously by Mr. VanderYacht, proud maternal grandfather of the new one-year-old.

From left to right,

Gabriel (nephew), Martha (sister) and Samuel (nephew)

Becca on crutches

Becca on crutches
Originally uploaded by grbecca.

Rick, my newest fellow Jersey-City-Heights-ite, graciously let me borrow his crutches so that I didn't have to buy my own. I can now get around with the agility of a jaguar. At least a lurching, hopping, three-legged jaguar that nearly trips over anything more solid than air. But it's better than nothing!!!

Longjohns

If you look carefully at the pictures of my splinted and wrapped leg in the hospital, you also can see the result of some amazingly prophetic planning on my part.

I wore my great zip-off cargo pants sledding...so when the doctor needed to cut the pantleg off to check my leg, I just zipped the leg off. Unfortunately, I also had longjohns (thermals, for some of you) on underneath, and they needed to be cut off.

The three coherent thoughts that I had running through my head the moment after our sled landed on my leg were:

1. I totally just broke my leg. Yup. It's broken.

2. Man, I haven't shaved my legs in forever. This is going to be embarrassing.

3. Well, at least I wore the right pants for a broken leg...they won't have to be cut off, because they can just be zipped off.

Thank you L.L. Bean for zip-off cargo pants!!!

My leg in a fiberglass splint

Leg in fiberglass splint
Originally uploaded by grbecca.

So, heeeeeere's my leg, splinted in fiberglass and wrapped in Ace bandages. Thank goodness for Vickie's cell-phone camera...otherwise these momentous events would not be documented!

dr.augustin and leg

Dr. Augustin and my leg
Originally uploaded by grbecca.

In the E.R., Dr. Augustin splinted my leg with this awesome fiberglassy splint. He got it wet, then sort of molded it around my leg, and it became solid. Magic!

Package Day!

So thanks to Rick's good advice about using a backpack, and the tips I received from www.mybrokenleg.com, I am now able to retrieve and carry things like books, food, beverages, (provided they are in tightly closed containers) AND the mail. What with my crutches, the backpack, and these cargo pants with large pockets that I'm wearing, I feel quite independent! Almost.

Today, the mail was memorable indeed, because it not only included a unwanted credit card applications and unwanted credit card bills, but also brought me a package from Grandma (with a lovely valentine card enclosed) AND a package from Chris Pedersen, CSE (Calvin Seminarian Extraordinaire), A.K.A. Pastor Pico, containing theological books by his new favorite author, N.T. Wright. Yay! New reading material!

Casablanca

I was NOT looking forward to a night by myself (Waitress-Roommate Vickie was working a double shift and Chemist-Roommate Gayle wasn't home yet from work)...and then Jeanne, a colleague of mine, called and asked to come over.

She brought:

Ben and Jerry's Double Chocolate Fudgy Chunky (or something like that) Ice Cream. Yum.

Knitting needles and yarn. (We'll see if my ever-deft fingers can handle knitting...)

Herself. Which was great. I LOVE company these days. I mean, I've always loved company, but Yay Jeanne!

We ended up watching a taped episode of Without a Trace, which I love, and then Casablanca, which I had never seen before. I actually didn't know how it ended, so I was really into it the whole time, and surprised at the ending.

I'm writing this now because my body has apparently decided to give up sleeping. I haven't been able to sleep more than about 4 hours a night, probably because I just sit all day and don't expend any energy. Honestly, I feel very silly laying in bed from 3-7:00 A.M...but what else am I going to do? Sometimes I read, sometimes I write, but mostly I just lay there in my bed silently fuming at the slow passage of time. It would be so much easier if I could pass the time by sleeping. Isn't it time I asked my doctor about Ambien?

Or maybe not.

Nine Men's Morris and a Violin Recital

Today Evelin (the mother of) and Elijah (the brother of one of my students, Karis) came to visit me. Karis was at school, so she couldn't come... but I tell you, any visitors are the best thing that happen during my day. Otherwise I am forced (well, not forced) to watch The Price is Right. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love TPIR...but I prefer visitors to Bob Barker and his beauties any day. Except when there's Plinko involved.

Well, anyway, Evelin and Elijah (age 5) came over to visit, and brought Elijah's violin. I was able to enjoy a performance of all of the pieces in Elijah's Suzuki violin school book, including "Go Tell Aunt Rhody", "Etude", and (even though he's not technically supposed to play it yet) "Gavotte".

We also played Nine Men's Morris, which is a old sailor's game that is a combination of chess, checkers, and tic-tac-toe. I won the first game, but Elijah soundly beat me in the second. He's got some good strategy for a five year old! And no, I'm not ashamed of losing to a five-year-old, because I consider him to be one of the brightest kids I know.

It was great to talk to Evelin, and this visit lifted my spirits considerably. And, even better, Karis and Earl (the dad of the family) are coming to visit tomorrow!

Broken Leg Bathrooming

I'm making progress! Today, Wednesday, was the first day that I was able to independently go from the couch to the bathroom to the couch again without ANY ASSISTANCE AT ALL!! Yes...Yes...my life is VERY boring and it takes VERY little to excite me.

Today was also the day of two other significant events...First, I went to the doctor's office for my first post-hospital appointment. My mom borrowed a friend's car and we somehow got me down the stairs (that was scary) in front of my house, and into the car. It definitely took coordination that I didn't know I had to get me into the car backwards, keeping my leg raised enough so that it wouldn't hit anything. Of course this was all complicated by the fact that there was a bit of ice and snow between my house and the car...but eventually I got in. Dr. Augustin's office is in Bayonne, about a 25 minute drive from my house. When we got into the office, I signed in, and lo and behold! In the receptionist's office was standing Tom, the well-muscled X-ray man from the hospital. He recognized me and soon I was in the X-Ray room, chatting it up about my recovery. Needless to say, I was in much better shape this time around; I could actually get onto the table myself, lift my leg, etc...without his help. I was very proud of myself. It doesn't take much these days.

Anyways, Dr. Augustin came in, looked at my leg, we talked for a few minutes...and then he proceeded to take out the sutures from my incisions. Painful...but sort of a good feeling to get them out. He then wrapped my leg in ultra-cool velcro Ace bandages (no tape or clips this time to fasten them!). Last but not least, he wanted to show Mom and me the post-surgery X-rays. Unfortunately, the X-ray machine had just broken, interestingly enough, with my X-rays inside. After we waited for about an hour, they finally got them out, and we got to see them.

Wow. Modern medical technology is amazing. My leg, which had been broken in half basically

(see this diagram: http://lpig.doereport.com/enlargeexhibit.php?ID=10295 ...but only if you're not squeamish)

now contains five screws and a rod, all made out of titanium. Honestly, on the X-ray, it looked like Dr. Augustin had just gone to the neighborhood hardware store and picked up some 5/8 in. screws. However, the likelihood of any hardware store in Jersey City or Bayonne carrying titanium screws is pretty low. Imagine that.

So, eventually we returned home, and then the 2nd event of the day occurred--it was time for Mom to leave for the airport. Bernie Chester, a Mustard Seed parent, had volunteered to drive her, and he stopped in for a short chat. It turns out that his wife, Dorota, is extremely worried on my behalf. And here's her main worry:

That I won't be able to walk down the aisle when I get married.

Honestly.

Anyway, after assuring both Bernie and my mom that I had no immediate plans for matrimony that could potentially be hindered by a tibial fracture, they left for the airport. And, as I understand, due to Mr. Chester's characteristically "Jersey City" mode of non-stop talking, they missed the exit to the airport. Luckily, they had plenty of time to correct their course.