Today's verse that I received in my e-mail was:

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes." Psalm 119:71

Sure makes me think!

As hard as this past month has been, I know that the Lord has a purpose in it. Even though I don't know what it is, I become more convinced of this every day. He has caused me to literally just stop, slow down, and think. I find myself listening more, speaking less, and pondering what I say before I say it.

As I continue physical therapy my overall pain level continues to decrease--a huge blessing. Tuesday I went and got a pair of compression stockings/socks. When I am wearing it with my brace, I can actually fit my foot into one of my regular shoes. For two days this week I was able to wear matching shoes to work. As small and insignificant a thing it is, it's nice not to have to wear mismatched sneakers and dress pants at the same time. The stocking/sock is nice because it compresses the leg on all sides and as a result, the pain and pressure feeling is distributed throughout my leg instead of gathering in my foot. I'm also walking better and tolerating longer distances (2 more praises!).

I met with my project adviser today after a month of not being able to really get to Eastman. It was a huge blessing as she was pleased with what I've been able to accomplish. Even though the injury has set me back, she seems optimistic about me being able to finish in the next month. Of course I am going to have to buckle down and spend most of my "free" time working on writing my paper. But it will sure pay off in January when I am done with my master's degree.

It has been a blessed day in many ways, and I'm praying that the caffeinated beverage I had at 7:30 doesn't keep me awake too late tonight!

Blessed

The other night I was journaling and I felt the Lord telling me that I needed to focus on the blessings that have occurred since I hurt my foot, and not focus on the things that "should've happened." After I made my list it was pretty impressive, and it was neat to see how varied it was. It wasn't just one or two people who have been helping me, but many different people. For the most part it has been my closest friends and family, but when I think about it, it's pretty awesome because our relationships and friendships are supposed to be 2 way streets, i.e. have a give and take aspect. What an encouragement it has been to see the fruit of my efforts in maintaining my close friendships. Tonight the 2 year old, 4 year old, and their mom dropped by for an unexpected short visit and to drop me some dinner. It was just an awesome blessing to sit and chat for a few minutes while the kids played. And an example to me of how the body of Christ is supposed to function--that we are supposed to help take care of one another and not let them flounder helplessly. At a time when I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be leaving my current fellowship or staying, blessings like these have been not only an encouragement, but also a reminder that the church body does exist and function outside of the four walls of the church.

New Camera!

So I received a digital camera for my birthday and was playing with it the other day. On the left you can see my lovely blue cast, which is complemented quite nicely with the Merrell sneaker on the right. Since my Merrells are practically brand new, it is my hope that the Vibram soles will prove their weight in gold and not get worn out from the crutches





Wednesday I was the height of fashion as I was able to coordinate my shirt with my cast. It was rather humorous as I didn't realize how well they matched until one of my esteemed colleagues pointed it out.


Yesterday I went back to the doctor for the two week check up. I made the mistake of going by myself and was sorely lacking in need of a second brain as I was feeling quite poorly and was not quite with it. I told the doctor that I was still having pain and that I had lost my balance Wednesday and as a result came down pretty hard on the bad leg. At first he said if there was still pain then we needed to leave the cast on. But when he found out that the pain was in a different spot, he decided to take off the cast. Then he gave me an aircast and said I needed to go in to therapy. But he never mentioned the new pain that I was experiencing, and I didn't think to ask again. So I got home and was in the most incredibly pain which last all of yesterday.

A friend took me back to the doctor, but by the time my doctor returned my phone call I had to go to the afterhours clinic. Well, it was probably not the most constructive use of our time, as she proceeded to tell me that what I was experiencing was the result of my sprained ankle. According to the orthopedic I hurt my peroneal tendon and sprained my midfoot. He never mentioned the ankle to me. So it sounded like she was trying to tell me that I sprained my ankle while I was in a cast, which is the strangest story I've heard.

But then as I was looking over my physical therapy prescription this morning, it says my diagnosis is left ankle and mid foot sprain, along with peroneal tendinitis. Go figure! Sometimes I wish I could get a straight story. So if that truly is the case and I did sprain my ankle when I fell and got the other two injuries, then I probably aggravated the ankle sprain Wednesday when I lost my balance getting out of the tub. This is my guess because my ankle is now more swollen than it ever was and is rather painful. My doctor said that if I still needed crutches by the middle of next week that we would have to recast it. My hope is that I will be able to get in to see the physical therapist (a person who has seen me before) soon and get a story that makes sense. I sprained my ankle pretty bad in 2004, so I really don't want to be messing around and not having it heal correctly. Well, that's the foot update for now. I'm signing off!

Pain and Frustration

I almost made it through 3 full days of work. It sounds strange, but I would've never guessed how much working with an injured leg would take out of me. I left an hour and a half early because I just couldn't do more teaching. Thankfully I moved a lesson earlier this morning to accommodate and ended up only missing one group. Ever since last night I've been in a lot of pain. Probably overdoing it, even though I've been keeping my leg up every possible moment while teaching. I think the problem is that because of orchestra rehearsals both Tuesday and today, I went from 6-9:30 with my foot down. Anyways, pain and frustration is the name of my game right now.

But it has been a good week of doing lessons and it has been a blessing seeing all of my kids. I'm incorporating the "building bricks" from Orff into orchestra and the kids are thrilled about it. Yeah for exciting teaching moments.

The Sprained Ankle That Never Was

A week after I fell and hurt my ankle, after a week of various doctors appointments coupled with incredibly intense pain, I finally got around to seeing an orthopedic who correctly diagnosed what was going on. The other doctors kept saying it was a sprained ankle, but I had my doubts because of the type of pain i was having, and the fact that it was going up my leg. So it turns out I damaged a tendon and sprained the top of my foot! All because of an accidental slippage as I stepped into the apartment building!

The results: Wednesday the doctor sent me home with a boot that was supposed to immobilize my foot but allow me to walk. I got home and realized it was too big and my foot was slipping. The next day I went into school with it and it was absolutely horrible...more pain than before. Left school early to go back to the doctor who realized the mistake and gave me a smaller boot. It was definitely an improvement, but it still was painful to walk. So...the last option was to cast it and today I had it done. The receptionist and I are now on a first name basis and I am finally feeling relief from the pain. I am so glad I decided to get the cast. Twas a bit strange because the doctor and an assistant actually tried to talk me out of it. But anyways, for the next couple of weeks I will be stylin with my blue cast and fashionable cast boot. Since blue is my favorite color and most of my wardrobe is built around that bit of info., I will probably be more fashionable now than I have been in months.

The next challenge will be figuring out what clothes I can and can't wear to work over the next couple of weeks...must fit over the cast, but be modest enough so that I can keep my leg up while teaching, and..oh yeah, I have to be able to play cello in it. But that will be tomorrow's adventure (along with getting back to my grad work). God bless and have a good night!