New Bling

January 31, 2013

Being a D1 school, Duke has a group of top-rate athletes playing on the fields, courts, and in the pools. In the 2012 London Olympics 9 individuals were there representing a total of 5 different countries. From those representing the US, two were head coaches, one was track and field, and two Olympians, Abby Johnston and Nick McCrory, were on the diving team.

I have always been a HUGH Olympic fan. The music, the patriotism, the athletes’ stories, the unbelievable performances, and of course Bob Costas keep me glued to the TV for hours. The sport doesn’t even matter. During the Olympics I become a fan of whatever is on!

Now, I work in the Athletic department. As is such, working at a University like Duke has its perks. One of the perks came in the form of a monthly celebration called TGI. Lunch is provided as the athletic staff gets together to watch a game or do some other sports related thing. This month, we got to watch the diving team practice and were given the chance to jump off the 10m platform if we wanted to.

After the diving team practiced, we also had the opportunity to meet the two diving Olympians and, you guessed it, touch, hold, feel, and wear an official Olympic medal! Yes, it is solid and yes, it is heav-ee!

As I posed with the silver medal, I couldn’t imagine the amount of weight around Michael Phelps’ neck when he has all of his medals on! 

Published!

January 30, 2013

 The book has finally arrived! Let the celebration begin! For those of you who want a copy for yourself (or a friend) – head to www.accordingtoaletheia.com to order today!

The Cyst-er

January 23, 2013

The quick and unusual onset of my condition caused the normal functions of life (walking, showering, cooking) to be more difficult. Although my range of function has been improving, the process of doing all of these things is quite exhausting. Not one that asks for help easily, my mom offered to come down for a while and help and I didn’t refuse.

In the past, I have had issues with a cyst that appears in the tailbone region aka a Pilonidal Cyst. Because of my other condition, I have been laying down a lot, which caused my little cyst-er to flair. I have managed this in the past with a heat treatment. Well, this one reared the ugliest head yet, as a trip to the ER was called for to get it drained.

During this time, I wasn’t really feeling the pain in my legs as my bum-chum trumped it all. The draining process took it all to another level!

During one of my wound-repacking sessions, a doctor told me a story about a woman who went through the same thing I did shortly after the birth of her child. She said that when she compared the two experiences – delivering a child and cyst slaughter – the pain during the draining process was much worse.

So, as I waddled slowly out of the doctor’s office I thought two things: as my mom had both me and my sister naturally I always figured I could do it too. Now, I knew that I could.

           

God’s hand was definitely at work in this as while my mom came down to help me recover from one condition, she was there to walk with me through another one. Thanks mom for being there!

Awake My Soul

January 16, 2013   

        

For Thanksgiving I went to PA to visit a friend. While there, she told be of this book she wanted to write that would take 52 pieces of her art work and compile them into a journal allowing people to sit and reflect on one painting per week for a year. Looking for a creative outlet, I jumped on the chance to offer my help by doing the layout for the book.

            So for the past month and a half emails have been flying back a forth between us as the project progresses to completion. Finally a printed version was ordered to start the editing process. Here we are going through the edits via skype. My mind baffled by what technology allows us to do these days!

This has been an awesome learning experience, as it has pushed my creativity and caused me to continue learning and stretching. The deadline is fast approaching. I look forward to its day of completion! 

Start the New Year in Bed

January 3, 2013

             

The New Year did not start out as I thought it would. I thought I would experience a new sense of freedom as a debt free woman (eat that student loan!). Instead, I find myself unable to stand up or walk without feeling unimaginable pain. The cause has yet to be discovered or pin pointed. All I know is that before this, I only thought I knew what pain was. 

2012 Stats