I have been wanting to write for weeks, but just haven't been up to writing. All the while, I had so much to talk about. Now that I am finally typing away, I know I am going to forget half of what I wanted to say....so, here goes...
A few days ago, Jimmy and I celebrated our 31st anniversary. Every year it is such a special day for us both. Since I've gotten sick, I get anxious as September 13th starts inching its way closer. There are so many ways we would love to celebrate, but we have to be realistic.
Last year, for our thirtieth, I wanted it to be extra special. Again, I am not in a position to enjoy a getaway. We ended up going to a great restaurant "Trulucks", in Ft. Lauderdale. It was such a special place...really delicious. I was so excited about it being our thirtieth, that I was sure my adrenaline would carry me through the dinner. Unfortunately, I ended up lying flat in our big, curved booth. SO EMBARRASSING!!! The waitress was super sweet, and brought table covers for me to use as a pillow. I purposely did not bring in my reclining, power w/c...just not the look I was going for, for such a special night :) I posted on the blog about this last year.
So, as this year rolled (pun intended) around, I knew that wherever we went, I HAD to use my chair :( UGH!!! We went to an amazing new steak house, NYY Steak. The food was incredible, surpassing Ruths Chris, Trulucks and other similar steak places we have tried, over the years.
When we got there, I asked if they could seat us in the most out of the way, inconspicuous spot in the restaurant. I knew eventually I would have to fully recline, with my feet raised. We sat in a little area that we had all to ourselves....couldn't have been more perfect! As expected, I got really sick, before the entrees were brought out. I had to be as horizontal and on my side as possible. Thank God for that chair. I am rarely out in a situation where I need to use it, but when I do, it is a lifesaver.
Dinner was so delicious! I don't know how my taste buds can come back down to earth and common folk food. In the end, it was mission accomplished (I wish I had a big rubber "mission accomplished" stamp) ~ YAY!
Earlier in the day, I had two tests done at Mt. Sinai hospital in Miami. When I went in for my CT scan, the nurse was such a doll. It was really funny. As you can expect, I talk about everything under the sun to anyone that would listen. At one point, she said, "Well, I'm from Pennsylvania"...YAY again! Her name is Beth, and she went to the same college as my daughter-in-law, Liz. Mt. Sinai is an hour south of where we live. As it turns out, she lives a mile down the street from me. Now, this is the exciting part. I cannot remember what I was saying, but I only remember her answer...cough, cough..she said "oh, you're too cool for that"....feel free to read that over and over! Cool...my best friend Beth said I was not only cool, but too cool. The last time I heard that was...hhhhmm...NEVER! I should have had her put it in writing. All this excitement, and she was probably talking about my body temperature. She shops at our food store, so next time I go, my head will be doing the Linda Blair 360. I am lame..., no, make that too lame. Anyway, it was really funny because we kissed and hugged when I was done...X & O!
So, that's it for my anniversary day. Other than that, my emotions are on a never ending roller coaster. I work hard at keeping my chin up, but there are times when it gets really difficult...which brings me to a sweet story...
Katie Couric has a new talk show that began last week. The show is so/so, but I have every episode set to record, for now. One of her guests was Aimee Copeland. Aimee is the girl that went through hell with the flesh eating bacteria. She lost both forearms and legs. I knew she was on, but didn't watch. To be honest, I thought it would be too depressing. Aimee was also on one of the morning news shows, and I read that she was incredibly inspirational. Because of that, and having it recorded, I decided to watch.
WOW, this girl is absolutely amazing. It all began in May, so it is still very recent. I really hope she writes a book, and that it becomes required reading for teenagers.
During the interview, Katie was asking her, basically, how she deals with all that has happened to her. Aimee went on to say how grateful she is for her wonderful family and discussed her plans for the future. Also, she will be finishing her masters in psychology in May. Aimee plans on starting an organization that helps amputees (children, adults, vets) get back things that they thought they lost forever, like hiking, skiing, etc. Katie was in such awe of her, as was I. Katie said "so, what you do not have is eclipsed by what you do have". I had to immediately write that down, so I could post it here in her exact words....perfect words.
At another point in the interview, Katie was talking to Aimee about her disability and Aimee interrupted her and said, "I don't consider myself disabled, I just have different abilities". I have to say, Aimee drop kicked me out of my pity party. As I said earlier, I am always struggling to keep my head above water. After seeing Aimee, she made it that much easier for me. Thanks Aimee! I am a super fan!!
