Engaging
27 August, 2007
We are the Hokies and we need your help.As Hokies, we all know what Saturday is--the first home football game of the season. And now, the entire nation knows what a Hokie is. How times have changed in one year. ESPN’s College GameDay is coming to Blacksburg to help us start off the new football season. GameDay is not coming to Blacksburg because this Virginia Tech v. East Carolina battle is going to be the best game of the day in Division I football, hardly. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreet will be returning to Blacksburg not to for the reasons Blacksburg made GameDay famous for (13,000 crazy fans in maroon and orange) but to both pay respect to the events that occurred in April and also to show that Virginia Tech is moving forward. It is College Gameday’s opportunity to mourn with the Hokie community.
It is the Hokie community’s chance to say thank you.
Over the years, students have created posters that range from creative to crass. GameDay is known for all sorts of revelry, people dress up in costumes and the atmosphere is that of a traveling circus. But this time it is different in Blacksburg. We all know why they are here and let’s change how we handle this Saturday. No posters referencing Ball’s and Vick’s, instead why not use this vast media outlet to say thank you to the hundreds of colleges across the nation that pledged unyielding support following April 16?
As a community, we never knew what devastation on the levels of Columbine or the Amish schoolhouse shooting felt like. And unfortunately, now we do. But something else that we were surprised by was the awe-inspiring support that we received. Tears were shed for those who were loss but also for the emotions that overcame us as thousands of boxes, packages, flowers and checks started pouring into Blacksburg.
The nation will be tuning into Blacksburg to see how we are doing. Let’s show them our Hokie pride, let’s show them we are moving forward but we will never forget those 32. This is an opportunity to recognize why GameDay is in Blacksburg without losing the meaning of the day--It is our first home game and it is a new school year for Virginia Tech.
So make signs that say “Thank you, Virginia”, “Thank you, North Carolina”, “Thank you, Michigan”, “Thank you, JMU”, “Thank You, LSU”, “Thank you, Florida” and so on.
Let’s continue to show the world what it means to be a Hokie.
24 August, 2007
TGIF?It is friday. I haven't figured out if all my days feel like friday or if all my days feel like a monday. Yesterday I had to work from home because Justin has a work "fun" day which meant he went rafting with his team. But it also meant I didn't have a ride, so I was stuck at home. SO BORING. I sat in one room all day and had to force myself not to eat the whole house. Gavin was suppose to come get me for lunch, but he bailed, which sort-of let me down. That was all I was looking forward to that day. But Nicole Durfee stopped by in the late afternoon and we chatted for awhile, it was nice to have company!
Absolutely nothing going on this weekend. We are staying in tonight and making a good dinner and then I don't know what we are doing for the rest of the weekend. Justin has some football draft on Sunday, so I need to find something to do on Sunday because I don't want to be stuck home alone all day again!
Blah, boring and uneventful. But a week from today we head to Blacksburg for the first football of the season. So that is exciting and at least something to look forward to. And I have a doctor's appointment monday. I am hoping that he clears me to work full time, clears me to drive and clears me to go back to physical therapy.
21 August, 2007
Had better tuesday's.....This is getting old. It is a month tomorrow since I had surgery. I miss the gym so much. I am starting to gain weight and I really am trying to watch what I eat. I haven't been to the gym in over a month now. It is getting me down. It just really is making me upset with myself and wish things were going a little bit better. Here is my day.
Woke up
Went to work till noon
Came home
Worked from home and had 2 hour long phone meetings
Went to sleep at 5PM
Woke up at 8PM only because Justin made me get up to take my medicine and eat
Going back to sleep now.
And I get to do that again tomorrow, then Thursday and again Friday. I feel so lazy. I am exhausted by the afternoon. My knee is at least getting better. The infection is definately going away. It still is VERY hot and hurts pretty badly, but it is improving. It is so stiff. I am back basically to the same I was a week after surgery regarding bending it.
i am going crazy....I have never been lazy. My parents put me on a swim team when I was 3 years old, then I started tennis and golf, then I started soccer. Moved to Connecticut and played a lot of lacrosse, kept up with the swimming and tennis. Went to Chatham, played a varsity every season: Field Hockey, Swimming, Soccer. Then went to college, played on the water polo team my freshman year. Then I started running, then triathlons. And now I have done nothing for a month. I honestly have never taken more than a few days off...maybe a week if I was really hurt.
And now all I do is sitting around. I don't find enjoyment in domestic hobbies. Knitting, Crosswords, etc just don't do anything for me. I love reading but I am so exhausted that I either forget what I just read or I fall asleep.
I shouldn't let it get me down so much....but it is.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
20 August, 2007
ItchyWent into the doctor's office first thing this morning after a night of pain and severe night sweats (eww!). The overall knee looks better and isn't nearly as hot. I took in chocolate chip cookies that I made last night for the office staff, seeing they have worked me into their schedule 3 different times in five days and one late sunday night call from the doctor. He said the incisions are still pretty infected but at least it isn't spreading. He told me that he would like me to be bedridden all week but I talked him into letting me work half days at the office and then work from home the other half. So basically I can do nothing for another week, which at least means I get to miss physical therapy. I go back next Monday to reevaluate. He increased my antibiotics again and is making me staying on them for another 14 days. They are killing my stomach and making me really itchy.
But no surgery! That makes me so happy, and I can handle the pain and itching.
I didn't even turn on the tv the whole afternoon because I am so sick of it. I just now turned it on and that is only because Bob Woodward is suppose to have an interview on ABC with tech victims.
And do I need to mention either of the other major VT headline stories? The carbon monixode leak that impacted 21 people....5 got moved between UVA and Duke. And then good ole Michael Vick...how does one person go so so so wrong?!
19 August, 2007
Still feeling a bit lostI spent the weekend trying not to think about going into emergency surgery. Trying to create all sorts of reasons or signs that I was in fact healing, when in all honesty my knee didn't seem much better.
Friday night, Clif and Abbie had Justin and I over to their house to "help" polish off some of the 5.5 cases of wine they have left over from their wedding. We were more than happy to aid in that task...and I knew they would take my mind off my impending doom. Clif grilled us some meat and Abbie made tasty stuffed peppers and out came the wine. It was quite tasty and a few hours of wine, Catch Phrase and a whole lot of 4 person Mario Cart made the hours pass by and laughter so much my sides hurt was a perfect cure for my anixety.
We went to sleep in their guest room, but I didn't sleep much at all. I think my fever was acting up and I was in pain. I woke up Saturday morning and tried to think of ways to fill my day. After a tasty breakfast of pancakes and peaches, Justin and I headed home. I decided I wanted to go walk around Georgetown for the day. It was gorgeous outside and only about 75 degrees.
So I crutched and Justin kindly strolled around with me for the day. We grabbed a few drinks down at the waterfront--Sequias, which I love because it isn't all yuppy like the other places down there. I never understand why girls get so dressed up for an afternoon in DC. It is just silly. Then we walked up to M Street and split some food from Old Glory's. A few more hours of walking around (and a pit stop at Dean and Deluca's so I could get liquoric) we headed to Maine Ave for some fresh seafood to take home. If you've never been to Maine Ave, it is a treasure in a mainly touristy city. It smells quite rancid, but it is where all the boats come in with their catches and where a lot of restaurants get their seafood for their menus. We decided on some Grouper, little neck clams and shrimp.
I got home and fell asleep for a few hours and then we decided to make some dinner. I was getting grumpy by then. I think it was anxiety and stress but I just felt like nothing Justin was doing was right and it was just frustrating me. Luckily he is patient and didn't really lose it despite me getting a bit bitchy.
Dinner was good, we ate outside on the screened in porch and then watched a movie--Idiocracy. It was terrible. I felt I lost a few hundred braincells in those few hours. Then I went down and went to sleep dreading today.
Nothing much calmed me down today. We watched the Virginia Tech memorial dedication on tv that my mom and others went to. It made me so sad and I did spend a lot of my day reading personal stories about those killed or injuried. It at least put my own pain and worried in prospective.
Justin made me breakfast (yummy french toast) and then we went to Target. That was fun at least because we finished off our registery. One Kitchen Aid mixer later (that is a sign of a put together kitchen!), a new microwave and some other random things and a few hundred dollars later, we headed home.
Still no news from the doctor about the lab test though.
My mom did call and let me know that 20+ kids at Tech were in an apartment that had a carbon monixode leak. 3 were airlifted to Duke and 2 to UVA...all unresponsive. Can VT not catch a break?!?!
Finally I called the emergency number for my doctor and got his cell phone. I left him a message and about an hour later he called me back (he was on a flight from Chicago) after calling and getting my lab results. The cultures came back negative for any growth, so no surgery tonight or tomorrow morning!!! He said to just stay off my leg, keep taking all the antibiotics, keep it elevated until tomorrow morning and then he'll see me as his first patient in the morning. He said he didn't know what they will do tomorrow until he sees it, but the good news was that it hadn't spread into my joints. It is still quite hot and the incisions are looking more infected. The scars are really red and are spreading wider because they are so infected. I have been running a fever for a few days now and that is just wearing me down! I hope he figures something out tomorrow.
It has been a tough weekend, not really relaxing at all. I dread starting the week tomorrow when I don't feel like I got a break. Justin's dad did stop by tonight and we went out to eat at the Italian Cafe. A bottle of wine, amazing food and some tasty dessert later, I do feel relaxed enough to sleep tonight.
Wow this was long.
17 August, 2007
Joint TapThe doctor didn't go as well today as i expected. Here is the walk through...
WARNING: This post is a bit graphic.
I woke up this morning and the knee didn't feel any worse, I thought if anything it was better, so I decided to go into work. I made it about 2 hours before I noticed how much my knee was swelling and was hot. I called the doctor's office and found out that my doctor (who I knew was in Chicago for a conference)'s partner could see me at 12:45. Justin took me over to their office. The doctor came in and right away he knew the infection was still there. He told me he was going to have x-rays taken and fluid removed from the knee. The x-rays...obviously not bad. The fluid....oh there aren't words to describe the pain that is involved with that.
Here is the description...the nurse came in and put what Justin described as the "Puppy wee Wee Pad" under me. Then they came in with a cart of tools. Numerous needles, tubes, vials and sprays. It seemed like I had to wait like 30 minutes, just think about what was about to happen. Finally it was game on. They sprayed the outer side of my right knee with this numbing stuff (that is such a lying name...the stuff did next to nothing!) and then said he was counting to 3 and then sticking. 2 second later, he stuck. And did he stick. A 4 inch needle into the inner part, under my knee cap, into the joint synovial sac. And then he dug and prodded. and I think tried to kill me. It was unbelievable painful. Out came some blood, some joint fluid and all sorts of gunk. And a continuous river of blood pouring out of the hole in the side of my knee.
Finally it was over and Justin and I had to take the fluid/blood concoction over to the Outpatient Lab at the hospital. Now I have to wait. In the next 48-72 hours I will get a phone call from the doctor letting me know if the infection spread. If the infection spread into the joint, then I under go emergency surgery. UGH!
My doctor's receptionist emailed him right away to let him know what was going on. She just called me back and let me know that my doctor is pretty concerned and that he went ahead and booked me into his first surgery slot on Monday. He is hoping that if the infection has spread that I can wait until Monday morning for surgery, so he can do it instead of having this other guy, who I've only met once, do surgery on me. I also have his cell phone number to call and talk to him at any point this weekend. I think that is amazing. So unlike a doctor in a big city. Their office feels very like a small town.
Now it is just a dreadful waiting game. I am not allowed to be away from my cell phone or go outside of cell phone service.
UGH.
16 August, 2007
I-N-F-E-C-T-I-O-NSo I am back laying in bed. It all started on Tuesday. I didn't feel great half way through the day and went home at lunch. I figured it was because I worked all day on Monday and had just worn myself out. Tuesday night, justin and I went for a walk (I crutched) just so I could some fresh air. I came back and my leg was hurting so much. I couldn't get comfortable at all that night to sleep because of the pain. Then Wednesday I woke up and my leg hurt even more. I just couldn't understand what was going on. I figured if it wasn't any better by physical therapy, then I would just go next door to the doctor's after my appointment.
I went to therapy and it hurt more than words can explain. I kept telling the people there that my knee hurt more than it did after surgery and that it hurt above my kneecap, which made no sense because I don't have an incisions there. They kept coming up with explanations. My favorite was that my skin was hyper sensitive and that I need to reintroduce it to touch and the best way to do that was to run different kinds of fabric over it. So I finished my appointment and iced and it hurt so much that when I would stand up I thought I was going to pass out because the pain was so extreme. So I decided screw these physical therapist, they know nothing, I am going to stop by the doctor's.
I went over there and talked to his receptionist and said that I thought something was wrong and the pain in my knee had increased SIGNIFICANTLY in the last 24 hours. I said if he said this was normal and I just needed to suck it up, then that was fine, but I just wanted to make sure what was happening was okay. I hate just stopping by a doctor's office without an appointment. I have worked at a doctor's office for enough time that I know not to do this! It was about 4:30 in the afternoon and she was nice enough to let me back and put me in a room. My doctor came in (who I love, he is fantastic!) and took one look at my knee and said it was VERY infected. So he put me on antibiotics. I couldn't take some of the antibiotics that he wanted to give me because I have had really bad (throat swelling closed) to two different kinds of antibiotics over the years. So he gave me something and wanted me to start by taking 1000mg (normal dose I think is 250mg)...500 right away and then 500mg a few hours later. WHOA did that hurt my stomach! And he said if it wasn't better by Friday then I needed to come back in.
GLAD I DIDN'T LISTEN TO MY PHYSICAL THERAPIST AND TRUSTED MY INSTINCTS!
Here I am late thursday afternoon and I feel NO better. My knee is still very swollen, painful and hot. I am getting worried that the antibiotics arne't working. If they don't work by tomorrow morning I am getting concerned that they are going to admit me. I really really really don't want to spend my weekend in the hospital. On top of the boringness (is that a word?!), the iv's, the hospital food....I just don't want to have to pay more money for this injury! Insurance only pays 90%...which is great, but still...that 10% adds up!
This is just frustrating. I am not entirely sure what to think. My mom is a bit concerned that I could have picked up an infection while at the hospital, which means it could be antibiotic resistant. I am hoping that my internal stitches or something are infected. My doctor didn't know what was causing the infection and said we need to stop it spreading it, then we can figure out the cause.
Tomorrow morning means either I am going in the office or I am going to the doctor. Makes me a bit anxious/stressed. And my stomach hurts from taking antibiotics every 6 hours!
11 August, 2007
My triceps are killing me.I am still full from my amazing dinner last night. We went out to Neyla in Georgetown for Restaurant Week and it was wonderful. I cannot believe I got Justin to go eat Medeterrian food. He eats American food, Seafood and Mexican. I have convinced him to at least eat sushi, but he does that because he considers it still in the seafood category. So I loved the food but he wasn't too sold. But I was STUFFED. So I made us walk (well me crutch) around Georgetown to burn off some of the food. It is odd to walk around Georgetown at 10:30 at night and not aim to go into a bar. But it was fun window shopping. Can anyone really afford the furniture and other amazing things at those stores?! Well I guess obviously they can, but I don't think anyone my age can.
Today has been low key. Slept in and then went to the Farmer's Market. I love the market. It is so much fun just wandering around and tasting all the fresh in season fruits and veggies. I think we are going to grill out tonight and just stay in and take things easy. Neither of us really are aiming to spend money to go out just so we are entertaining ourselves. We can find ways to do that at home in a much more affordable manner. Especially seeing I don't move around all that well, so a crowded bar/club isn't really my scene right now.
Physical therapy went well on thursday. I bent my knee 115 degrees. I was SO proud of myself! I am getting around much better. And they let me get on the bike for about 10 minutes. It was wonderful. Painful, but wonderful. I can tell I am healing. I am not laying around nearly as much and i am antzy to go do things....like cleaning and laundry. I think Justin has come to notice how much I do around the house because this place is a WREAK without me picking up, doing laundry and cleaning the bathroom. I think we are going to move the day bed out of the living room today. Okay, Justin will be moving the day bed out of the living room, but anyway. I still get so exhausted so easily though. I have to keep myself attached to this ice machine most of the time, which makes me feel like an astranaut or something because the cables are so huge. And anything I do wears me down pretty quickly and I have to rest....but I can notice improvements.
Okay, I am aiming to finish writing all my thank you letters from the wedding today. I only have like 4 left, I don't know why i haven't done them yet anyway.
09 August, 2007
Sleep is a girl's best friend.So it has been a little over 2 weeks since surgery. I have made it into work every morning of this week and have been to physical therapy once. I have been working from home in the afternoons and then just sleeping a lot. I honestly don't think I can get enough sleep right now, which to me means that I am healing. I had a bit of a scare on Tuesday because I started running a fever (100 degrees) and the incisions were all VERY HOT. I was getting worried that I was starting to get an infection but it felt better yesterday and today and my temperature has been around 99, so I am pretty comfortable with that.
Physical therapy wasn't as bad on Monday as I expected but that was probably because it was just my first session and they didn't do too much. Just wanted to assess where I am up to this point. I did manage to bend my knee on my own up to 90 degrees. I was proud! They also gave me a bunch of exercise to do at home, which I have been doing and they HURT LIKE HELL. It is unbelieveable. And it is a bit upsetting because I just have so far to go before my knee bends normally. Ugh. But I guess I knew this was coming. I have a new appreciation and understanding of what real surgery is like...and it sucks.
I did find out my roommate from undergrad is pregnant and it is SO exciting! She and her husband have been trying ever since we got back from the Derby (that was my rule...no none drinkers on the Derby trip!) and she called me yesterday and let me know. Woohoo! I am excited for her and also to have someone else go through it before me and give me all the details. We did this with our weddings too...she got married a little over a year before me, so she got to tell me all my fears, etc. were normal.
Football starts soon. 3 weeks from tomorrow I head to Blacksburg for the first football game versus ECU. I am excited but also anxious. I know there will be a lot of the shooting for the first game and it is the first time VT has gotten to celebrate about something in awhile but it is amazing how raw those feelings still are. My mom said that her friends still start tearing up when they talk about it and my church in B'burg has had to bring in counselors in for professors, wives, etc. who just aren't moving forward and are getting so anxious about the upcoming semester. I have been back home a few times since the shooting but it is still such a sickening, overwhelming guteral feeling that comes over me when I think about it, so I am dreading have to open up all those wounds again.
Second physical therapy session today at 2:15. They said that I may be able to get on the bike today. I know it will hurt so much, but I will be thrilled to be able to ride again. The faster I recover and get back to the gym, the happier I'll be. And the sooner I get off crutches!!
06 August, 2007
My knee hates me for this weekendQuite a few days!! I am getting back into the land of the living. Friday night, Justin and I went to Clif and Abbie's wedding down in Charlottesville at this wonderful vineyard. The wedding was gorgeous! The weather...was not as gorgeous. It was miserably hot until the storm hit, then it poured down rain. But that let up for the ceremony. The wedding party walked down the aisle with major thunder and bolts of lightning hitting all over the place. I was sitting there trying to decide what to do if it starts to pour....and Justin said we would just wait and watch Clif and Abbie. If they ran, we could...optherwise we were sitting through it. Luckily the weather held for the ceremony and everything was inside. We had a great time.
I even danced (little awkwardly because it was only on one foot, but humerous.) I cannot wait to see pictures! Abbie looked wonderful in her dress and all the little details she has been working on really came together!
We were leaving the reception to get back on the bus (always a great idea!) and you had to walk across this porch that was had standing water on it. I was so careful and got to the last plank and went down face first, so hard that Justin expected a busted open face or missing teeth. Somehow I was okay except for some bruises on my arm. What a lovely exit!!
That night we went out in C'ville with a bunch of people at the Mellow Mushroom. No offense, but I still cannot stand C'ville. People just are so snobby. We were at the bar and people were getting annoyed with me for being on crutches...uummmm, I am not doing it as a fashion statement, I cannot walk!
When you haven't really drank in awhile, you shouldn't start your evening back at a vineyard. I had the worst hangover on Saturday morning!! But at least we had a handicap room at the hotel so I got to shower all by myself!!
Then we got on the road and headed to Newport News for wedding #2. We got to my grandmother's, changed and left with my mom to go to the church I grew up at. This wedding was insane! The bride was a good friend of mine growing up and my mother went to high school with the bride's mother....and my grandparents introduced the bride's grandparent's to one another. So needless to say, there is some history. The wedding was gorgeous. I really loved her dress and the bridesmaid dresses!
Then we went to the reception at the James River Country Club, where I grew up swimming, playing golf, tennis, etc. This reception was amazing. Money was not an issue. I would say there were 500 people at the wedding. There was more food than we could even begin to taste and drink bars every where. It was magnificant. But I would say the thing that was the most over the top would be the firework show that they had that evening. What wedding has fireworks?!?! Anyway, it was a great wedding to get to attend!
So yesterday we drove back to Falls Church. TOOK FOREVER! Then went to see the Bourne Ultimatium. Loved it! We are addicted to all the Bourne movies so I was so happy this one is out. It was really good. Then after the movie we went home and pain set in. I mean PAIN. I guess I did too much this weekend (well I knew I was doing too much, but I didn't really have any choice). It was as painful as the night I came home from the hospital. So I slept upstairs in the day bed again and got a little bit of sleep, but made it into work for this morning.
I have physical therapy in a few minutes. I am dreading this. They are going to hurt me. :(
About This Blog
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Name::F.C.G
From::Falls Church, Virginia, United States
A twentysomething who is quite clueless on lots of aspects of life, especially being a newlywed.
View my complete profile
About Me
Name::F.C.G
From::Falls Church, Virginia, United States
A twentysomething who is quite clueless on lots of aspects of life, especially being a newlywed.
View my complete profile
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