I walked in with a list of questions that I had wrote down at 6 a.m. that morning. When he saw my list, he said, "Fire away."
Question #1: "How often do I need to have come back?" After a pause, I added, "Not that I don't like to see you."
He told me that I made him laugh, which is good because he makes me laugh as well.
And then told me that I'd need to come back in six months, when I'd be feeling 100 percent again.
He said I was "healing nicely," but I'd still not feel 100 percent for at least one to two months.
When I told him that I still get tired after doing things, he said that was normal.
He said the fact that my incision scar feels weird is normal.
When I asked if the external fibroid had shown up on any previous MRIs or ultrasounds, he said he didn't know for sure. But it "impressed" him.
He asked if I was still having leg pain. I said I had some after I started driving again, but it had gone away. He assured me that the external fibroid was putting a lot of pressure on my nerves, so it's no wonder I had leg pain.
So the good news is I'm "healing nicely." But it also means that there's still healing to be done. And that can be discouraging at times.
Road trip to Ames
Last Wednesday I made my first official road trip outside of the Des Moines metro area. I drove to Ames and back. Something I will do four times a week starting Aug. 24 when fall semester classes start.
While I was in Ames, I met with a student. I had lunch with a friend. I talked to other friends in Hamilton Hall. It was a fun day -- but when I came home, I was exhausted.
One of my friends asked me if I was excited for classes to start again or sad the summer was over. I told him I was looking forward to a new semester, but a little scared about my stamina the first couple weeks of classes.
If I was exhausted last week just driving to/from Ames without teaching a class, how will I do when I also have to teach classes?
The road to Wrigley
Last weekend my parents and I went to Chicago to watch the Iowa Cubs play Sunday at Wrigley Field. My mom and I took turns driving into the Windy City Friday.
Saturday she and I went to Woodfield Mall to do some shopping. There were people everywhere. After going in about four stores, I hit the wall. Time to go back and rest.
So much to do in the Chicagoland area. So much I would like to do. But I knew I needed to hang at the Residence Inn instead and rest up for Sunday's festivities or I'd be exhausted.
Sunday was a blast. My cousin Sue's 12-year-old son Bryce went with us to the game at Wrigley. It was his first baseball game ever, as he lived in England until 2007. Bryce loved every minute of it. And so did I.
We went down to get autographs, not knowing that the player signing was actually an injured Chicago Cubs player. Reed Johnson signed Bryce's hat, fan and ticket stub. And then posed for a picture with us.
Bryce got his picture taken with Cubbie Bear, the Iowa Cubs' mascot.
When we entered Wrigley Field, we were told kids 14 and under could run the bases after the game if they had a wrist band. I told Bryce he needed to do this. So he got a red wristband.
After the game was over, we were told that kids and their parents with red wristbands needed to report to the right-field foul pole. He and I walked toward right field, and then went downstairs to the field level.
As we were walking, we were told that the kids and their parents needed to stay on the warning track while walking on the field. Suddenly a light bulb went off. I, too, got to walk on Wrigley Field.
I turned to Bryce and said, "If anyone asks, call me mom." He asked why. I told him that he was supposed to be with one of his parents, so for the time being, I was adopting him. And without missing a beat he said, "OK, Mom."
We walked on the warning track from right field. I kept looking up at the scoreboard. It was an awesome view.
Bryce started his trek around the bases at first. He crossed second, rounded third and headed into home.
I'm not sure which one of us was more excited about the experience. But it's one that neither one of us will forget. And it's one that helped heal my spirit tremendously.
We dropped Bryce off on our way out of town and headed back to Iowa. Due to road construction we had a couple of detours, including one that took us across the Mississippi River at Clinton, Iowa.
It was pouring down rain. The winds were strong. And the weather radar looked terrible.
So we spent the night at the Country Inn in Clinton, knowing that we'd have to get up early to keep my Monday 11 a.m. date with Dr. Bedia.
But it was well worth the early morning wake-up.
The trip to Wrigley lifted my spirits. And Dr. Bedia confirmed that I'm right on schedule. I'm "healing nicely."
And throughout my recovery, I've learned that healing is not only a physical process, but also emotional and spiritual.
