Elbow Update

I finally found a position that will allow me to sleep comfortably. I have sleep on my couch with a pillow on my stomach and my arm on the pillow. Having a broken elbow is no fun...although the people at work are having fun spreading rumors about how I broke it. One story has me drunk and stumbling down the steps. The other story has me getting into an argument with my vice president and punching him out.

The real story is not nearly as exciting. I had on sandals that were a little slippery and I fell - plain and simple. I went down seven steps without really touching any of them.

My surgery is Wednesday 9/6 and they are going to put my elbow back together with pins and screws. It'll be the first step toward becoming a borg. I don't want to be a borg.

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome

What is RSD?
from: http://www.rsds.org/2/what_is_rsd_crps/index.html

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSD) - also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) - is a chronic neurological syndrome characterized by:

severe burning pain
pathological changes in bone and skin
excessive sweating
tissue swelling
extreme sensitivity to touch


[For a complete description of RSD/CRPS symptoms, please read the Diagnosis section of the Clinical Practice Guidelines section of this website].

There are Two Types of CRPS - Type I and Type II.

CRPS Type I (also referred to as RSD) - cases in which the nerve injury cannot be immediately identified
CRPS Type II (also referred to as Causalgia) - cases in which a distinct "major" nerve injury has occurred
RSD/CRPS is best described in terms of an injury to a nerve or soft tissue (e.g. broken bone) that does not follow the normal healing path
RSD/CRPS development does not appear to depend on the magnitude of the injury. The sympathetic nervous system seems to assume an abnormal function after an injury
Since there is no single laboratory test to diagnose RSD/CRPS, the physician must assess and document both subjective complaints (medical history) and, if present, objective findings (physical examination).


Criteria for Diagnosing

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I (RSD)

The presence of an initiating noxious event, or a cause of immobilization
Continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia with which the pain is disproportionate to any inciting event
Evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow (skin color changes, skin temperature changes more than 1.1°C difference from the homologous body part), or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of the pain
This diagnosis is excluded by the existence of conditions that would otherwise account for the degree of pain and dysfunction

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type II (Causalgia)

The presence of continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia after a nerve injury, not necessarily limited to the distribution of the injured nerve
Evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow (skin color changes, skin temperature changes more than 1.1°C difference from the homologous body part), or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of pain
This diagnosis is excluded by the existence of conditions that would otherwise account for the degree of pain and dysfunction.

They call me stumpy

Living the past three days with one arm in a sling has been a bit of a challenge. I never realized how many things required two hands.

Want to hear something funny? The pharmacy put safety caps on my prescription. So I was all alone in my apt fighting to get my own prescription open.

One challenge I didn't anticipate was eating. Plenty of people have offered to bring me food. Here's the thing, I can't cut any thing. I can barely eat with a fork. Right now, I'm like a toddler learning how to eat by myself with a big girl spoon.

My other challenge is typing. Right now I'm writing this blog with one hand. I'm actually getting pretty fast at it. I'm not ready to go back to work, but I think I have an idea of how things will be when I go back.

Ok dearies...back to couch for more movies.

On the disabled list

I'll make this short and too the point... I fractured my elbow yesterday and I'm in a splint and a sling.

OWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Wizard of Oz

I was watching the Wizard of Oz today and got a glimpse into what men are really like. Ok, I don't want to seem like I'm analyzing the movie to death, but....

The scarecrow
The scarecrow has no brain, yet almost immediately, he's telling Dorothy what to do and how to act. It's funny how the moment after the wizard gave him the diploma, the first thing out of his mouth was wrong... "the square root of the sum of any two sides of an isosoles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side"...that's actually not true...it is true with an equilateral triangle. I have read that the writers did that on purpose, sort of an inside intellectual joke.

The tin man
The tin man has no heart although he has to be one of the most weepy man you'll ever meet. Then it becomes painfully obvious that he may not have a heart or at least no sense of other people's feelings. When Dorothy and Scarecrow ask if there are animals in the forest, the Tin Man, in a "pass-the-salt", monotone voice, says, that there are mostly lions and tigers and bears. His tone is so like, "yeah, they might eat you...deal with it!" Later in the movie, he just randomly starts crying because Dorothy went to sleep... Good Grief!!! It almost makes you hate men who cry.

The Lion
Oh my goodness... ok, where to do I start? He starts off shooting his mouth off and ends up going for the only creature who has the courage to stand up to him...Toto. Ok so as soon as Dorothy clocks the lion, which if you look at the scene carefully enough, you'll see Judy Garland trying not to laugh, the real lion's personality comes out. He's not so much a coward as he is a scaredy-cat. He has gotten accustomed to displaying false bravery, as have all men. But when faced with a real challenge, what does he do? He passes out. Eventually he steps up to the plate.

There is so much more, but you have to keep in mind that this movie was released 67 years ago in 1939. I still love the movie.

My science final...and stuff

Ok, I totally blew my science final... but hey, I did it and it's over. I don't want to ever take any science classes again. That final destroyed my brain. The lady in the test center told me that she was worried about me because every time she looked at me, my head was in my hands. That was me trying not to cry. *sigh*

Well, while I was studying today, I watched a fire drill. The folks in the library, nursing and admin buildings had a fire drill. I couldn't hear the alarm, so I wasn't 100% sure what was going on. Most people, I heard, took their own sweet time exiting the building. It was a good thing that there wasn't a real fire.

So, I have 19 days before my fall classes start. I ordered my text books today. But I'm going to savor these two and half weeks off. I have lots to do work-wise, but I think things are starting to level out. My goal is to try not to stress. After all, I survived my first year at UMUC. I have high hopes for this year. I have also set myself up with a good schedule for the ministry. I'm really getting better at it and I'm really starting to enjoy it more.

I don't have any words of wisdom for the day because my brain is mush right now. I have to go to bed now.

Left-handedness Famous lefties, and some handedness facts

From: http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/318634294166551.php
Here's a bit of this and that concerning lefties.

Some famous lefties: Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Benjamin Franklin, H. Ross Perot, Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Queen Victoria of England, Helen Keller, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Edward R. Murrow, Jay Leno, Richard Simmons, F. Lee Bailey, Mark Twain, Phil Collins, Jim Hendrix, Cole Porter, Paul Simon, Dan Aykroyd, Carol Burnett, George Burns, Charlie Chaplin, Whoopie Goldberg, Cary Grant, Goldie Hawn, Angelina Jolie, Steve McQueen, Marilyn Monroe, Sarah Jessica Parker, Oscar de la Hoya, Terry Labonte, Boomer Esiason, Kenny Stabler, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Whitey Ford, Casey Stengel and Tommy Lasorda.

Fascinating facts:

• Most left-handers draw figures facing to the right.There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed.
• Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater.
• Left-handers excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming and fencing.
• Left-handers usually reach puberty four to five months after right-handers.
• Four of the five original designers of the Macintosh computer were left-handed.
• One in four Apollo astronauts were left-handed.

Sites: There are many Web sites on being left-handed. Among them are www.lefthander.com and www.lefthandersday.com, the sources for this information.

Images in my brain

I'm starting to wonder about my dreams. They are odd, containing people with whom I hardly ever think about or interact. They are all people in my waking life, but not prominent figures in that life. What does this mean?

I have no idea.

I've often wondered why we are so obsessed with our dreams and their meaning in our lives. For instance, if I dream that I'm rolling in a pile of $1 bills, does that mean that money is coming my way or does it mean that I am a greedy person who is only concerned with making money my sole source of happiness?

Why is it so hard? Maybe it's because we don't know from where our dreams come. They are quite random and emerge from the inner crevices of the psyche. Some people claim that our dreams are just manifestations of our inner most desires and fears and that somehow our brains find symbolic ways to translate those desires and fears into images that seem familiar to us.

So... if that's true, how come I can fly in my dreams? or how come I can fall off a cliff, but not go splat on the ground? How come I can do things that border on being wrong, but not actually cross that line? Why do I dream that people, who love me in the waking world, begin to violently hate me? Or better yet, why can I fix things, problems, in my dreams...problems that I am powerless to even approach in my waking life?

Dreams are weird...things...who can really understand?

Besides, Joseph and Daniel, that is....

Chicken soup for the soul

It's amazing what 11 hours of sleep will do for you. I went to bed at 8 pm last night and didn't wake up until 7:30 am. I dreamt about all kinds of things, some not so pleasant, but not scary either. I don't want to say what the dream was because you might think me sick and demented.

I'm watching Superman now... no not the new one. The first one with Chris Reeve. I haven't seen in so many years, I feel like I'm watching it for the first time. I should've made some popcorn or had some ice cream, but that would've been one more dish to wash. I'm sick of washing dishes.

And with that, I'll end this blog... because I have nothing else to say :-/

Conflict

con·flict (knflkt)
n.

• A state of open, often prolonged fighting; a battle or war.
• A state of disharmony between incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interests; a clash
• Psychology. A psychic struggle, often unconscious, resulting from the opposition or simultaneous functioning of mutually exclusive impulses, desires, or tendencies.
  Opposition between characters or forces in a work of drama or fiction, especially opposition that motivates or shapes the action of the plot.

intr.v. con·flict·ed, con·flict·ing, con·flicts (kn-flkt)

• To be in or come into opposition; differ.
• Archaic. To engage in warfare.

The apostle Paul spoke of man's internal conflict, the spirit vs. the flesh at
(ROMANS 7:21-23) 21 I find, then, this law in my case: that when I wish to do what is right, what is bad is present with me. 22 I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, 23 but I behold in my members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my members.

We all go through this at some point in our lives. I'm going through it right now.

If you're boy, don't read this

A friend told me today that once you reach your thirties, your body starts going through changes. She told me that she started getting weepy over the strangest things and that she started getting migraines.

Well, I've been weepy, but haven't had the migraines.

Monday I was hostile and weepy.
Tuesday I was emotionally drained and weepy.
Today I was just weepy.

Sometimes, it's no fun being a girl :(

Long week...already

When is it ok to compromise standards that you set for yourself? I'm not talking about moral standards because I don't think it's ever right to compromise your christian principles.

I guess what I'm talking about is having expectations about how I handle myself in particular situations. I mean,for the most part, I'm an easy going person. But lately, I've been feeling my patience running really REALLY short. I expect things to be a certain way, for people to abide by a set of rules that I have inside my head.

Why don't other people know these rules? Why can't other people live and act by my standards? Why can't I write a sentence about someone else? Why is everything about me?

I need to get this resolved either by changing my attitude or everyone else's. I think the former is easier. But it will take some work.

Maybe I need some starbucks...

Gina's Song

artist: Reba McEntire lyrics
title: I'll Be
album: So Good Together

(Dianne Warren)

When darkness falls upon your heart and soul.
I'll be the light that shines for you.
When you forget how beautiful you are
I'll be there to remind you.
When you can't find your way,
I'll find my way to you.
When troubles come around,
I will come to you.

I'll be your shoulder when you need someone to lean on.
Be your shelter.
When you need someone to see you through.
I'll be there to carry you.
I'll be there.
I'll be the rock that will be strong for you.
The one that will hold on to you.
When you feel that rain falling down.
When there's nobody else around.
I'll be.

And when you're there with no one there to hold.
I'll be the arms that reach for you.
And when you feel your faith is running low.
I'll be there to believe in you.
When all you find are lies.
I'll be the truth you need.
When you need someone to run to.
You can run to me

I'll be your shoulder when you need someone to lean on.
Be your shelter.
When you need someone to see you through.
I'll be there to carry you.
I'll be there.
I'll be the rock that will be strong for you.
The one that will hold on to you.
When you feel that rain falling down.
When there's nobody else around.
I'll be.

I'll be the sun.
When your heart's filled with rain.
I'll be the one.
To chase the rain away.

I'll be your shoulder when you need someone to lean on.
Be your shelter.
When you need someone to see you through.
I'll be there to carry you.
I'll be there.
I'll be the rock that will be strong for you.
The one that will hold on to you.
When you feel that rain falling down.
When there's nobody else around.
I'll be.
I'll be.

Long Day

There are days when I like I can't do anything right. Nothing goes the way it should and at the end of the day, I wish that I hadn't gotten out of bed.

Yesterday was one of those days.

Today is going to be a better day... it has to be!

There's no crying in baseball!

sorry for being lax

I haven't been posting as much this month... or should I say, July. It's been hectic with traveling and then getting back to work. I've been so overwhelmed with all my work and with my summer class. Who ever allowed my to take a science class online didn't do me any favors. I needed a face-to-face section so that I could understand things better. But what's done is done.

I had a conversation that left me emotional distraught and questioning my choice of careers....

I'm just kidding...

It did wear me out though. Now I just want to go to sleep and not wake up for 24 hours. That won't happen, but a girl can dream ;)

Stand

You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright

[Chorus:]
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand, Then you stand
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on

[Repeat Chorus]

Everytime you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place
Ooohhh

[Repeat Chorus]

-Rascal Flatts
Stand