Time with Dayla is always great, and as we were in the middle of taking a selfie with our handmade with love mugs tonight, we got a Cinderella style surprise delivery. Earlier today, I tried on my brand new custom fit shoes and inserts though the company rep had a few adjustments to make before I could keep them. He walked by Dayla and I mid snapshot this evening, and said he'd return shortly. Just a few minutes later, the nice man put down his Santa sized bag and pulled out my beautiful bright green shoes.[...]

I'm often asked if I'm tired, and my standard response is yes - I'm tired all the time. There's often a follow up if I slept well which I usually do, and I have to explain my body is in a perpetual state of exhaustion for good reason. Yesterday and today I have again good reason to be exhausted (I always do, but I was particularly excited by yesterday and today's reasons).[...]

Note the preposition: in. However, it's a miracle none the less.

I'll never forget my surgeon's brutal honesty in the emergency room that she could make no promises of me ever walking again. The odds were never in my favor, but they never are for a girl on fire. Any steps I take, I want to celebrate. Today I took a walk with Alex in the pool to try to loosen up my ridiculously tight calf muscles. It was ok.[...]

I hesitated to post a Good Friday update after I had already posted three days in a row, then this morning I realized I'm not forcing anyone to read this, and there are people who would want to celebrate the encouragement I received yesterday on the greatest of Fridays.[...]

Maundy is such a weird word. I didn’t even know what it meant until I just looked it up on Wikipedia. I was intrigued because I was talking to my nurse this morning and today is a holiday in Europe - the therapists only have to work a half day - but I was explaining that we have a fancy name for the day with no celebration in America. We don’t really get a holiday on Good Friday though people often go to church services in the evening - I was involved in the preparation for the Westport Good Friday service for years. And Easter.[...]

My current colon treatment is extra espresso in the afternoon. This is a dream come true for me; I never thought I’d be prescribed more coffee. My doctor in America had to work for years to get me to decrease my caffeine intake (I used to drink twelve cups of coffee a day - easy). It’s just a small increase, but the doctors and nurses here hope that more coffee will flush out my intestines. The other treatment options are significantly less pleasant, so I’m hopeful the espresso does the job.[...]

I have had a smile stuck on my face for the majority of the day for three awesome reasons.

It all started with a handshake - that's how all my PT sessions start. Alex shook my hand and asked me how I was feeling today. She didn't wait long before telling me that she had received notice from my insurance that they have approved my very own custom fit, ridiculously expensive Bluerocker shoe inserts. Next she told me, "I think we'll walk with this today," as she pulled the wheelless walking frame in front of me. I stood up with her bracing the frame and stabilized my weight over my feet now secured in the test model inserts I've been wearing.[...]

My routine is far from ordinary, but I roll with it. To be fair, ordinary things happen to me every day along with the extraordinary. I have human nurses who laugh and act and get lightheaded like normal people. Monday morning the nursing student got lightheaded when he was trying to draw blood from my arm. The poor kid had to have his own blood pressure and blood sugar taken as he laid on the floor next to my open balcony door with his feet propped up on a chair.
"I'm so sorry," he kept apologizing.
I just laughed, "I'm glad to know nurses are people too."
After making sure Benedikt was okay, another nurse pricked my vein, pulled my blood, and barely left a stain in my skin; however, I like looking at the bruise from Benedikt's unfinished attempt and smiling at how somethings aren't perfect, but that's what being human is about.[...]

I had a terrible science fair experiment in grade school, but I'm so grateful for the people who continue their experiments into grad school and use their findings to make the world a better place. I'm currently in round two of three three day tests of paraplegic arm and torso movement for the doctoral studies of a student at the University of Zurich. There's no impact on my recovery, but it can provide the medical community with potentially useful information.[...]

There are a lot of things I've been trying to figure out how to put out in public here. My thoughts are multitudinous stars, and I struggle to form them into constellations - however, I must try (before you commend my poetic skills, please note I shamelessly stole the analogy from John Green; kudos nerdfighters who didn't need to be told). Please bear with me as I try to connect the thoughts.[...]