A Little Vacay, A Little Run and A Little Surgery

We arrived in OC (Ocean City, NJ) late Wednesday night after Simon got his cast off (yay!) around lunch time and we headed out here with an unintentional bathroom stop at "Gigi's Friendly's" the same friendly's we stop at every year. Unintentional, because we decided to try to get there as quick as possible and make the trip without a sit down dinner, but when a 4yo bladder calls, the whole mini-van listens. The first available stop....Gigi's Friendly's!

Simon's cast is off!

The beloved road trip to OC!

I still had my appetite and enjoyed my meal as well as some of David's spicy fries. (Cue the dramatic music.)

We got to OC and I started to feel a little backed up. But nothing major, yet. I hadn't run in a few days and felt like I could use it. But a run just wasn't happening - so it goes. I could always run some time...we were going to be here for almost 2 weeks. There was too much going on, David was headed for MD for the day, we had to plan David's birthday celebration and Izzy was in full on Mama-mode. And I wasn't really feeling up for a run. We tackled other things like Congo falls! (A Simon fear from last year.) The beach! The Under-Toad! An Izzy shower! (An Izzy fear.) Woot!

Besides I figured I was just backed up from being a bit dehydrated, a couple long beach days, not moving around as much even though we were walking and I wasn't eating the same chobani & granola every morning.

By day 3 of pain, and several more days of other tummy trouble, with Izzy on her like-a-bike and me in my running shoes we ran/shuffled/biked 7 blocks to CVS for some over the counter relief. Tonight was the Red Sox vs. Phillies game and I was GOING! It kinda worked. Sort of. By the afternoon the pain wasn't as intense, but mind you I only ate a chobani all day because I wasn't hungry and I wanted to save room for CHEESESTEAK!! (You can't go to philly without a cheesesteak!) So we went to the ball game, had great seats (Thanks Rob!) and a great time (Thanks David!) and great food - cheesesteak and crabfries. Besides that food was SURE to get things moving right, right, right????

Red Sox lost.  But still a fun game. And man....those seats!

Tasty, yes.  But this is what got me up at 3am in terrible pain. 

Tasted even better with the wrapper off!

By 3 am I couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I was so backed up and there was no place for the food to go. I tried going to the bathroom again. No luck. I just wanted this shit out of me dang it!

I got on my running gear. Izzy woke up, I got her back to bed. I wrote a quick note on a paper plate to David and 3:30 in the morning I finally went for my run. 

 

I ran to 12th street from 22nd. About 2 miles total. Just enough to see the stars, feel the ocean breeze, hear the waves and talk to God. There was a LOT said.

"This pain is so great. And not just this...."
"But you know what to do. Just keep moving forward."
"You've done a lot of things. You can handle this and the next and the next."

But then I heard the most important thing.

"You are loved because of who you are. You may or may not be liked because of what you do or say, but that is not the point. The point is to love and be loved. So just be."

And then I got to the end of my run.

I didn't see a single soul.

How often does that happen? I have never, ever been on a run where I never saw a single car, person, bike, walker, runner, police officer (good on that since there is a curfew I found out after the fact!).

Walking back to the house at around 4 am with this realization, the same voice said:

"Did you feel alone?"
"No. Not once."

"Because you aren't." 

----------------

I got home and wrote down the line I heard about love on the back of the paper plate I wrote to David that said: "I am going for a run. I love you."

I slept about 1/2 hour then was up again in pain. Took another ducalax and nothing. After nothing happened again, and I was still clearly in pain, David took me to the ER. We were checked in by 7am.  They hooked me up to an IV gave me a shot of something for the pain, but it helped a little.  They gave me something stronger a bit later then in for an ultrasound.  David kept my mind off by talking about the last time we were in the ultrasound room.

Soon after they wheeled me back in the bed (that is one of the most helpless feelings ever) to the ER, the surgery consult came back and said I needed to have my gall bladder removed.  It was acutely inflamed and he didn't think I would be able to make it back to Boston for elective surgery.  He was kind and helpful and reassuring.  He assured me that he has many people that come in from out of town and he knows this is hard but he sees I am in pain and can get me in the OR for surgery by 2. 

He said he would do laparoscopic cholecystectomy - the gentler way of removing the gall bladder and only perform open surgery if he needed to.  What does this mean?  It means they made four incisions and blew me up like a balloon and removed my gall bladder using a video camera. The pain was worse than anything I have ever felt (I delivered both children naturally, and ran a marathon and this was way worse. I would NEVER wish this on anyone!)....but the pain was met with smiles as David and I recounted every happy moment, every happy word we could think of. Simon....Isabella....waterslides.....as I drifted in and out of consciousness. 

He never left my side.
He never left my side.

After surgery, I woke up in recovery with David there, gall bladder gone and a different pain, like I was punched in the gut, back and shoulder repeatedly, but lots of dilaudid (trippy!), percoset and sleep helped. 

And a little goofiness from David....

I love the Airlife!  I love to boogie!
David was making bong jokes coaching me to reach 1000!
Dang was that hard to hit!  

Two days in the hospital and some recovery at my grandparents' house - extending our vacation - and staying a bit longer in the most healing place on earth. Besides, everything at Gigi & Granddaddy's house is pretty much already accessible! We stayed for a follow-up appointment with the surgeon and then back home for kid's camp, some normalcy.  Recovery is typically 7-10 days, but no sit-ups, heavy lifting or things that involve stomach muscles for 6-8 weeks. I am not sure what this means for running.  

Ironically there are no dietary restrictions.  But I will still try my darn-dest to stick to the outer aisles anyway. :)

Flowers from Brian & Jeanie.

The most wonderful welcome home sign ever.  Yes.

It is good to be home.  I will never forget that run.  I will never forget this vacation.  And I will never forget the love and support that I felt for and from my family.  I love you.

_____________

I found out that this is hereditary (both of my grandmothers had their gall bladders removed) and typically happens in women.  And sometimes in women that have lost a lot of weight.  I am curious, have you had your gall bladder removed either with elective or emergency surgery?  

Making Sense(ing) of it all.

I am an ISFJ.

If you know what that means, then you already know by putting myself into one of  the16 MBTI boxes, I like the orderly consistent behaviors that the MBTI indicators type. Sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

One of the big battles I have is with the "S" in me. People are typically an "S-Sensing" or an "N-Intuition"(or maybe somewhere in the middle. See I AM trying!) To determine if you are an "S" or an "N" one question that helps is "Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning?" Or if you are like someone I know once said, "Do you like poetry or not?"

I don't.  

I wish, wish, wish I did.  I try to.  But I just don't get it.  It isn't literal enough.  What if what I interpret is "wrong"?  My friends would argue that that isn't the point; that you are meant to take what you can out of poetry.  I say, tell that to my English Teacher that still had to grade our papers. 

In any case, I decided to try to "get" poetry and Isabella & I have been reading some of the poetry books that  her Gigi has given her over the years.  I figure maybe a now 4-year old (HAPPY BIRTHDAY IZZY!!!) can help me interpret poems from her eyes. Heck, it seemed to help her process Simon's broken arm when the night it happened she recited Humpty-Dumpty and Ring-around-the-Rosie!

And in a different way to help me understand poems, I started to read the Psalms.  I always steered clear of them.  They seemed so antiquated, overly happy with their harps and trumpets and singing; or morbid with their enemies and dust to dust; and sometimes both! The Pslams just seem so OUT there.  Like "look at me! the Lord is SO MAJESTIC!" I didn't get them. I think one profile of mine described me as having a "distrust of the fanciful" and Psalms just seemed too fancy.  I mean, even the world Psalm with the silent "P" thing is too fancy.  Words should be written as they sound.  ISFJs do SO well in Spanish!

But,at the same time, I don't think it is right just to dismiss something entirely because I don't get it.  So I have been trying to at least read the Psalms.  I may not understand or interpret them, but I will try.  

This week, I came across this Psalm and decided to give it a whirl.  I read it.  And then let it sit. 

Here it is:

Psalm 8
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honour.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

And then something came out of it.  I recalled it when I saw a youtube post on facebook, and then when I started writing more and more meaning came out of it.  Here is the youtube post:



I don't know about you, but when I see this, when I listen to this little girl talk about potatos, when I listen to Isabella process her brother's broken bones, I am moved to try to put understanding around poetry, around the Psalms around my life, around my choices.  Even if those choices are as simple as reading a poem over a Disney book or picking an organic sweet potato over a seemingly similar looking non-organic one.

Maybe this will help me get out of my ISFJ box and put me somewhere in the middle.

Do you know your type?  Do you care?  What about poetry....do you read it, write it, love it, hate it, strive to understand it? What about this Psalm?  What does it say to you? Inquiring ISFJs want to know!

Friday's Drawers: Baby, baby bok choy

Kale, romaine lettuce, potatoes, vidalias, mushrooms,
blue berries, broccoli, baby bok choy

My dad & step-mom came out to the east coast all the way from Arizona because the couldn't wait to try some of these veggies from our farm share and our garden!  It had nothing to do with Isabella's 4th birthday, visiting Simon or meeting their newest granddaughter, my niece baby Dune.  Nooooo.....it was all about the baby bok choy.   

Regardless of the baby they were really coming to see, it was a good visit and I did get to make a quick easy, point friendly meal for their visit. 

Orange-Ginger Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients:

1T EVOO

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

2 T fresh grated ginger

1 lb baby bok choy, cut into 1/2 inch slices 

1/4 c. orange juice

1 T brown sugar

1 T soy sauce

1/2 c peas

1/2 c sliced mushrooms 

1t cornstarch mixed with 1T water

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat EVOO add the white parts of the baby bok choy, carrots, ginger and cook until tender about 3 minutes.  

Add the mushrooms, baby bok choy, orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and cover and cook until the baby bok choy begins to wilt, about 3 minutes.  

Uncover, stirring frequently, add the peas, and corn starch mixure and cook for another minute or so.  

Serve over rice.  

We also made a really good Cesar salad with the Romaine lettuce, fried rice with the vidalia onions for the kids, and strawberries & blueberries for dessert.  A good use of the share for one meal!

What is your favorite baby bok choy recipe? What do you like to cook up when you have special visitors in town.  

Bike to work day 2.0

Back in May when bike to work week actually I happened, I had every intention of trying to bike to work, but somehow I kept finding an excuse. I don't know the route; the roads could be too busy; running is one thing, but I haven't biked more than 3 miles in 10 years, would I have the stamina?; I don't have a commuter bike (hey, at least I *have* a bike - albeit a mountain bike circa 1991); but the kids LIKE picking me up from the train station; it's too hot, it's too cold, it's raining.  (Actually the month of May did have a lot of rain.) But really, these were all just excuses that I used to keep myself going to/from work with the car-train-walk combo.

I had every intention even of trying out the commute this last weekend as a test run.  But 9 miles out and 9 miles back didn't seem like a good plan (me and a 3 yo were just having too much fun playing outside was told as I started to get ready to go...."Mama you must stay here forever and ever!")  So with Saturday's test-ride out, I thought for sure I wouldn't be bike-commuting  this week.  But on Tues when my train/carpool buddy took a different train, I finally got up the courage to try my bike commute.  I was going to have to try it sometime anyway and a Tuesday is a good a day as any.

So with my maps.google.com directions carefully written on the back of an envelope tucked in my shorts, bike helmet on, change of clothes in the bag, water, gps watch (Yeah, I know - why would I need directions written down....I still haven't mastered that feature on the garmin yet.), tires pumped, kisses all around and a quick prayer to get me there safely, I hopped on and made my way to work.

The first thing I learned - biking uphill is NOT the same as running uphill.  Dang!  I was nonplussed to see that my "average pace" on my garmin going up a hill was about a minute to 2 minutes slower than when I run that same hill.  Once I got over that - the hill and my puzzling thoughts, I kept on riding right up to one of the hairier intersections.

But that led me to something else I learned on my bike.  It is not a race.  My workouts and runs are often measured, with time, distance, pace goals. Biking to work was about getting from point A to point B safely, saving a few bucks, getting some fresh air, enjoying the ride and *hopefully* getting there before my train normally would.  And  burn a few calories so I can eat more. 

(I wished I biked on Wed & Friday this week too, when my train was way delayed both days!)

Lastly, I was pretty darn scared about commuting than I expected to be. Safety was part of it, but mostly because I just feel so vulnerable out there on the road with all these big metal objects around me.  Especially ones with people in them. On their smart phones.

But I think then I thought about a one of Molly's posts I just re-read recently about being scared: “It must be something like walking out on the rope at Xel-Ha—it’s scary till you start, then you’re so busy concentrating on what comes next, the next step, you forget to be scared.”

I am happy that I biked to work. It did feel like an accomplishment, (not to mention a decent workout) but really, I am prouder of the fact that I did something I was scared to do.  I am still a bit scared, especially at some of the busier intersections, but with a mountain bike I can always hop the curb an bruise my butt on the sidewalk bumps so I hope to add biking to my modes of transportation options more often.  I have a feeling I will get to see a lot more things that I miss when riding the train or driving everywhere.

Do you bike anywhere?  Or do you have something that you've been putting off because it just seems a bit too scary?

Apparently, this guy here, he as no fear. But man, do I wish he would at least wear a helmet!

Friday's Drawers - Small CSA, Small Post

This poor little blog is getting neglected!  Just not right....but yet I feel like I am writing ALL the time!

Anyway, we decided with 2 gardens going this year - a community garden plot at work and our little squarefoot garden at home - we decided to cut back to a small share.  Frankly, while the box is smaller, it was filled to the brim and this doesn't seem all that small to me.

The asparagus was roasted in EVOO and sea salt and devoured right away.  The onions were also roasted with some green peppers from last week, the baby bok choy was used with some scrambled eggs for dinner and there is still plenty left.  I think the rest will be a little stir fry with ginger, orange juice and soy sauce....unless anyone else has any ideas.

That seems to be the issue I have.  It's only been about a year and change since I really started cooking and I am finding that I keep going back to the same old same old.  I guess I just have to remember it was ALL new just that short time ago.

Now back the to share.  The sweet potatoes will get roasted when the temperature outside drops. (See more of the delicious same) Kale chips, and salad with the lettuce/tomatoe/cuke combo.  And those were some of the best blueberries I have ever eaten. Burp.

And the fiddle heads.....well hopefully they survived over the weekend and made it to a good home.  I just couldn't bare to try again.  Sorry heads.  Maybe next year. Or maybe I'll give them to some one to show me how to make them taste better.