MRIs and Mooving Days

From left: Rosie Cotton, Dahlia, Joan, and Nicolas

This week has been so full! Full of generosity, challenges, joy, learning, healing, and exciting transitions.

The cows moved on Saturday to Ballydidean Farm, where they'll have beautiful accommodations and be tended by a wonderful family. They're just five minutes from my home, which will come in handy when I can drive and walk again (still crutching, and still staying in a straight leg brace at least until my January 22 surgical consultation).

My friend Marta at work started a fundraiser to help me with my medical costs, which is a tremendous relief. I am in communication with a banker about cashing out some home equity if needed but that sort of thing moves slowly, and the bills are arriving now. I'm so grateful to those who've chipped in so that I don't have to choose between groceries and surgery!

Getting a more substantial brace on Friday made a huge difference in my comfort. It immobilizes my knee completely and limits me to a really tiny range of motion, which makes me substantially more comfortable at all times whether I'm sitting, walking with crutches, or testing out a little weight-bearing in hopes of working up to walking with just a cane. Surgery is still in my future to remove a bone fragment from beneath my patella and mend a couple of ruptured ligaments, and my swelling has finally decreased to the point where my doctors can make a more accurate assessment of the joint.

Getting an MRI was weirdly anti-climactic. I wanted to feel magnetized, like a super-hero or sci-fi adventurer. Instead, I felt normal—mildly tense—slightly bored. My injured knee did start to experience a weird nerve twitch during the 30 minute procedure, which they later told me was a common side effect. It didn't mess up the results, so I didn't mind.

Finally, I also got to spend four days last week in a Language of Spaces Certification course. It was the beginning of a 9-month learning journey with an inspiring cohort from around the world including Australia, Japan, Holland, and Croatia. I feel as though we'll emerge lifelong friends, and I think the program will be equally supportive of my professional and personal growth.

I've set it before, but I just can't help myself—I'm so, so lucky.