home on the range

We are currently in Buffalo, NY. We did not get a chance to have buffalo wings, but we were greeted by herds of fake buffalo on the side of the freeway upon entering the city... dang my camera for not being accessible at the time!

I have spent the evening in the hotel with my foot up watching tv, and it has been glorious. 1 more day in the car and then we will be arriving in Boston! Im a bit too sleepy to write more, except that this time change is going to be suck-errific for awhile... sleepy from the drive, but too wide awake. Oh those 3 hours... at least I have 2 months to adjust before going back to work.

Good night y'all!

Kansas City takes me back to my youth

My infancy, to be exact. I felt like the biggest baby today, in the literal sense. In order to remove my jeans (over my big ol splint cast), I had to lie on my back with my feet in the air, and you would swear I getting my diaper changed. I then go to take my first bath since the surgery (take that baby wipes!), and it was glorious. We wrapped up my leg in plastic, and I had to hang it over the tub, but man was I thrilled. James had to lower me in, and then I was splashing with glee. He then had to help me wash my hair. And when he thought it would be funny to come in with a camera, I stared in confusion, then made a grumpy face (those will be deleted come morning, thank you very much). So basically, while Im not proud to say it, I felt like an infant for nearly an hour this evening, but it was sooooooo worth it to be completely clean again. yay!

Kansas City is suprisingly enjoyable, thanks Jerry and Emily for giving us a lil tour.

Tomorrow's agenda:
wake up, by batteries for ipod speakers, drive another 8.5 hours (bah!), enjoy pt 3 of VU Reunion Tour Across America!

Colorado is for lovers... of thunder!

Hellooooooo from Colorado Springs! I must admit right now, I continually have to remind myself this is not a vacation. I am moving, I am gone, and I won't be seeing most of you anytime soon... tis a bit surreal.

I am currently lying in bed, with my ankle elevated & wrapped in an ice pack, listening to radiohead on my laptop and thunder out the window. This is probably our 5th storm in the 2 days we have spent here, and I'm loving it! I know many of you think Im crazt for leaving the pleasant weather in SoCal, but I craze cool winds, random drizzles, and natures most fabulous light/percussion shows, so I am eating up the weather here.

Our stop has been a lovely break from the road. To be perfectly honest, 12 hours in the car normally doesnt even phase me too much, but my heavily wrapped and sensitive ankle has made travel a bit difficult! I wish I could videotape the 3 minute process it takes between opening the door and actually stepping out of the car! ha! Despite the pain and the inconvinience, the drive has been quite beautiful and enjoyable. GusGus (my truck) is chugging nicely, and not complaining about the massive weight we have strapped to him. After a 12 hour drive friday, 5 hours of sleep, and another 13 hours in the car, we arrived in Colorado Springs and have spent the past two days relaxing... ok, I have been relaxing both days, James had to spend today unloading the truck, shipping books, replacing springs & shocks, and reloading the car... but we are both happy to be here. We are staying with Dave, Brigette, and their 2 cute scottie pooches. They are the best hosts, and it has been quite cathartic to simply sit and talk with them. Also, I had the wonderful suprise of Jenny (WIllis) Telfer not only bringing her husband + coffee this morning, but she returned for a few hours this afternoon to go through her Greece photos. Between the socializing I have been trying to rest my very aggrivated foot... so I have had my feet up reading or watching hulu. Toss in a few rain showers and some tasty BBQ ... perfection. I am a bit sad to leave tomorrow, as well as nervous about what 4 days in the car may affect my recovery, but I will press on!
Kansas City... here we come!

To keep spirits up, I have begun a very silly photo series entitled "the road between my toes". Essentially, this will be photos of things I want to explore/experience/at least pause to photograph in a way that requires full mobility... plus my bandaged foot. :) So far it has been wildly entertaining (at least for James and me). Look for it in a Barnes & Noble near you soon!

In other news... James did in fact shave his facial into "the chimo". Sigh. Im pretty sure people think he is the reason I am on crutches. Pretty foul... but I admit, the looks do make me chuckle.

I find myself distracted by itunes and having to repress the strong desire to sing along loudly to "Defying Gravity", so I will leave you now. Til next time... remember, only you can prevent Forrest Whittaker...

Throw me a freakin' bone here...

.. an ankle bone to be exact!


Ok, so the brief (ish) rundown leading up to this weekend (for those who have not heard already). In early February of this year, I was kicked a bunch at work by a young child, who oh so kindly nailed me in the same spot on my ankle every time. After months of pain, I finally checked in with my doctor, as a simple bruising should not last that long. I was referred to an orthopedic specialist, who found a dark spot on the bone, and called for an MRI thinking it was a cyst. After getting the results of the MRI, he then spends about 5 minutes with me, saying "I think this is a tumor, you should see a orthopedic surgeon", and then sends me on my way confused and worried. Next came two weeks of dealing with his incompetent staff, who mislabeled the referral as routine instead of urgent, then did not send in my files, and left me hanging for two weeks with the words "you have a tumor" echoing in my brain. After 3 straight days calling between offices, I finally got it resolved, and booked my appt with the surgeon. The surgeon confirmed that I had a tumor, and we set a time for the biopsy. The surgeon mentioned that I had the option of just simply having it all removed during the biopsy if it looked good, but I told the doctor there was no way I could be off of my feet right now. I have 2 weddings I am shooting in August, I am moving, plus many other details that make being off my feet too difficult. He said waiting until september would be fine, and that he would refer me to another doctor. All clear right?

wrrooooooong...

Monday morning I checked in for my biopsy. It all got off ot a rocky start, but I tried to stay positive. I figure, get in, get my biopsy, confirm it's benign, have some peace of mind, wrap up my responsibilities, then finish taking care of this thing. I know, it sounds like a pain to drag out, but it really worked best. So imagine my confusion when I come to, in excrutiating pain, to find out that the surgeon went ahead and did the full surgery. He did not even consult James. We are both pretty sure he did this so that he would be paid the much larger amount for surgery. Because we were not sure if it was malignant or not, we signed the consent form saying they could do more if they found it necessary, and the surgeon used that as a loophole. The other doctors working with him did not even know that I had requested not having surgery, and it sounded like that was what they were told was happening all along. Needless to say, I have many many words for the surgeon during my follow up on friday.

Monday night and tuesday were extremely difficult for me. I never realized how different bone pain was... even morphine didnt help the pain, just relaxed my muscles enough that I could fall asleep from time to time. It was simply hard to wrap my head around everything, I was drugged up, in pain, and told that my entire plan for the next couple of months had changed. oi.

I am feeling better now. The pain is decreasing to a steady ache, which is bearable. I can succesfully make it to the bathroom and back on my own (woohoo!), and I have discovered all the positions I can lay in without putting too much pressure on my leg. We have not yet tackled how to wash my hair or be truly clean (yay for baby wipes for now), but that will go on tonights list of adventures. I am slowly piecing together a plan to pull of the weddings. However, I am still struggling emotionally/mentally with all of this. The roadtrip is going to be a bit of a bust now. Everything I had left to do before we leave on friday can't be done. I am basically saying good bye to orange county from this bed. I am sad that when I get to Boston, the only time James and I had to settle in and explore before he started school will now be filled with bed rest. I feel a bit lost... James is trying to help, but really does not know what to do. I have grown tired of people trying to encourage me that "it's all over now", because a) it's not over, there is so much to deal with, and b) I was not ready, this was not the right time. People say there is never a good time, but there was... the time I had chosen was practically perfect.

This changes everything for awhile. I will adjust. but Im pretty bummed right now...