You know, I really do mean to keep up with this blog, but then a day goes by...and then a month...and then...I'm playing catch up again. So, here goes...
Shortly after my losing trip to Winstar my older boys, Ryan and Rich, took me to Vegas. It was an early birthday present...and it was a blast. I had never been to Vegas so all of the sights, sounds and smells of "sin city" were new to me and I wallowed in every minute of it. Apparently my training for the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk paid off because we took off walking down the strip and I had to stop every so often to let the boys catch up. We gambled, we ate, we walked, we saw the sights, we gambled, we took funny pictures and we gambled some more. I learned how to play Blackjack...not that I am an expert. I won $150 when playing with the guys (they lost) and then I played alone my last night there and lost $200. The highlight of the trip, for me, was being with my boys. I did, however, also enjoy winning $700 on the nickel machine, Lucky Meerkats. We stayed four days and had a fantastic time but then reality reared its ugly head and we had to come home.
The Three Muskateers
Have a drink...or TWO...Ryan
Me and my boy
My boys in Vegas
Back home I began seriously training for the 3-Day 60 mile walk which would be held in November. Then the rains began. It rained every day for 14 days...and I could not train. One day of no rain and then days of more rain. It was ridiculous how much rain we got. During the entire time I continued to work pretty much full time. Still, I snuck in a training walk occasionally when there was a break in the rain. That didn't happen often enough, apparently.
On the morning of November 6th I got up at 3:30 a.m. so that I could be in Plano to begin the Opening Ceremonies and the walk around 7:00 a.m. Bags were packed, loaded and the journey was about to began. As almost an aside, I remarked to my hubby that it was not a good day to wake up with a tender foot. I had an ache in my toes on the left foot when I walked. Didn't think much more about it and went on. That day proved to be absolutely beautiful. After weeks of rain the sun came out and shined down on us and we began our journey. Around 3,000 men and women participated in this walk. Literally thousands more lined the sidewalks cheering us on as we walked through Plano, Richardson, Dallas, Addison and Farmers Branch that first day. In the afternoon it became literally steamy and combined with the car exhaust and an upper respiratory infection that I was still being treated for, I walked "only" 17 miles that first day. I completely forgot about the pain in my foot that day and had an enjoyable time with my team of walkers and all the new friends that I met along the way. Saturday, however, proved to be not so much fun. Every step that I took was agony in my left foot. I walked the entire 20 miles that day, but it was a struggle. I had gianormous blisters on the balls of both feet and my left foot hurt like a demon. Hobbling back to camp I headed to the showers and then dinner and went to bed around 8:00 p.m. after visiting the medics to have my blisters lanced and drained. Phone calls of encouragement from my son and dad and texts of encouragement from my hubby kept me hopeful for the next day. Let me insert here that I was more than a little sad that I had missed my youngest grandson's first birthday party on Saturday to participate in this walk. A good cause, I know he would support it if he understood, but there is a part of me that can't let go of the fact that I wasn't there for his first real celebration. My mood darkened on Sunday morning about 5:00 a.m. when I awoke to get the day started, pack my gear, and begin the third and final day of walking. I could not stand up on my feet. I could not walk on any part of either foot except the heel and outside bone. Nothing involving the balls of the feet or the toes. I was very unsteady on my feet and almost fell several times just trying to make it to the bathroom. I knew that I had to throw in the towel...no choice, but it killed me to do so. The good news in all this is that I DIDN'T walk that third day. Little did I know that I had fractured my left foot (probably injured before the walk and then stress fracture during the walk) and that walking on the third day would have made things much worse. A week on crutches, a week limping around in a crock and finally and MRI disclosed a "nondisplaced stress fracture and edema in the tendons surrounding the injury." In English, that's a couple of fractured bones in the top of my foot and strained and swollen tendons surrounding the injury. Was it worth it...hell, yeah! Even though I have to wear this fracture boot until New Year's Day, my pain and inconvenience is nothing compared to what those who suffer from breast cancer experience. This one's for you, my sisters!
I hate crutches!!!
Designer shoe
Slightly before all the nonsense with my foot, my 81-year-young father took a tumble during the night and broke both bones in his right wrist. He spent a week in the hospital because his pulse ox was too low. During that time they didn't allow him out of bed because he was "a fall hazard." So after a week of lying around it came time for him to be discharged...and he couldn't support his weight with his legs. So, off to the rehab center for physical therapy. Four weeks later we got him home...just in time for Thanksgiving.
Can anyone say, "Handicapped Parking?"
Again, during all this madness, I continued to work full time because as we are all reminded every time we have stepped into a store or turned on the radio since Halloween, "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" and we must make our local retailers happy. The entire state of the economy of the United States is depending on how much money I spend on Christmas. All I can say is, "We are in deep sh*t!"
