Congratulations, Kim and Mike!

Finally! We wish you many, MANY years of happiness together.

TRUE Friendship

Just got this in my email and thought it was too good and therefore I must post it.

Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship. You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card- Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad -- I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you sad.

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

4. When you are scared -- I will rag on you about it every chance I get.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.

6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.

7. When you are sick -- Stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass.

9. This is my oath .... I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask; 'because you are my friend'.

Friendship is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel its true warmth.

Remember: A friend will help you move. A really good friend will help you move a body. Let me know if I ever need to bring a shovel.

Send this to 10 of your closest friends, then get depressed because you can only think of 4.

Great, fabulous people

So I've been going to FWO (Fort Wayne Orthopedic) for my ankle / leg...for The Catastrophe. These people have been great. Incredibly helpful, understanding, sympathetic...they've been handling all the interactions with my insurance company, have been explaining things all along as to what to expect, how to handle things, etc.
Yesterday I had to go back in for a consultation with the Physical Therapists about my RoboCast. I've been having some problems with pressure points, even though I'm not walking in it yet. She saw me without an appointment, (I'd say I was a "walk-in", but I was more like a "hop-in"), assessed and fixed the problem within a couple minutes, and told me if I had ANY more problems to call them right away and they'd fix it again. :)
The Physicians' side - well, I needed another note. I'm having too many problems with going to work, and they weren't real happy about me going back to work in the first place. The check in staff was extremely helpful, and when they learned I was expecting another note saying I should stay home, but that the nurse who had it was on lunch, they went back looking for her and the note so we didn't have to wait.
They explained exactly what I needed from them to file for Short-Term Disability, and all we had to do was bring in the paperwork. They're handling the rest, including filing it with my Insurance Company.
These people are the greatest. They're skilled, they're knowledgeable, and above all, they're compassionate.

If you ever need an Orthopedist, I recommend Fort Wayne Orthopedic. There aren't enough words to praise them highly enough. Their help and compassion has made a trying ordeal far, far easier on both Kev and me.

My Laptop Works better!

Yesterday, a very kind friend came over and completely redid my laptop. Wiped the hard drive, reinstalled Windows, redid all the drivers and stuff I'd need - everything.

WOW.
My laptop screams now. He said 'twas nothing, but honestly, he was here for five hours making everything work the way it should, and making sure it all worked right before he left.

Thanks, James and Katie. Thanks for coming over, fixing my computer, socializing with us and generally being really good friends. You guys rock. And I'm glad you liked the venison.

EWG.

I had my first visit to the Orthopedist yesterday. I got my old cast removed and a new one put on. This one's removable, and in fact I am encouraged - nay, required - to remove it several times a day and flex my ankle. I have never made so much effort for so little result in my life. After several flex-and-push sessions yesterday, my ankle has move approximately .0000000000001 mm. I think. Well, OK, I'm exaggerating but still.

I've been cleared to go back to work as long as I keep my leg elevated (duh). I also can't put any weight on it at all for another 4 weeks, which means that I'll be getting wheeled down the aisle for my best friend's wedding on June 28. :( Sorry, Kim. Oh well, like she said, we can always decorate the wheelchair. *snert*

My next appointment is on July 3, and I might possibly maybe kindasorta be allowed to perhaps eventually start to think about putting weight on the leg after that. Maybe.

But hey, at least I'm allowed to take a shower now, as long as we get one of those little shower stools and I take the cast off first.

Y'all, I almost passed out when they took the old cast off. Yikes. Pics below. There are 6 pics. The final 2 are of the actual incisions, so if you're kinda squeamish, don't look at those. They're nasty. I'll put in a squeam alert before them so you can close the window before you get there.

The New Cast

It's an Aircast! See the little nodule between the 2 straps on the leg? That's an air nozzle and I'm supposed to pump up the little airbags in the cast as the swelling on my leg goes down, so that my ankle doesn't jiggle around.

The X-Rays

Look at all those pins! They had to take 2 sets of X-rays because the first set didn't show everything. They hadn't realized it was that far up the leg. Well...neither did I, to be honest. No wonder the initial set at the Emergency room didn't show all the breaks!
Sigh. Sometimes I hate being "thorough and detail-oriented". Like when I apply my mad Thorough, Detail-Oriented skillz toward screwing myself up.

Take it off! Take it all off!

SQUEAM ALERT!
SQUEAM ALERT!
WARNING, WARNING WILL ROBINSON. ICKY PICTURES AHEAD. No, seriously.
Squeamish peoples close the window now.
Turn away from the post.
These are not the pictures you're looking for.
Move along.

OK, hey, if you're still here, don't blame me if you squick out.


The Inside Incision

The Outside Zipper...erm...incision

Nasty, innit? I think the long lines are medical ink, not sutures. Although they did remove those yesterday, too. The nurse did an excellent job - I hardly felt them at all except for about 3. Those hurt, but it wasn't her fault. Just real sensitive areas, I guess.

Simon's Cat in "Cat-Man-Do"

A Good Time was had by all

Well, we missed out on the family party over the weekend. My brother, sister-in-law and their kids came out from Wyoming to visit, and our family had a get-together on Saturday so everyone could visit with them. And, of course, we had to Stay Home. (I would've been in too much pain to do it anyway - and riding sideways in the car for that long? Yikes. I'm gonna have to take a BUNCH of Ginger Root the days we go to & from Indy.)
So...anyway, they were kind enough to take a few hours out of their travel today to stop off for lunch in Auburn and visit with us. :)
We had a great time. I'm all wore out from hopping to the table and stuff, so I'm really glad that my parents are letting me borrow their wheelchair, and now my leg is kinda achy, but it was totally worth it.

Shiny!

Some very kind friends have decided to help cheer up Kev and me. They sent us SHINY THINGS!
Saturday's mail revealed that a very kind soul sent us a 2008 Groundspeak Volunteer coin (I expect Kev will scan it and so on soon, but right now I don't have a pic).

Today's mail brought another gift from another kind soul! An envelope containing the Allegany GeoBash Coin with the most adorable little owl on it:





AND a hilarious pin: