Thankful

Happy New Year!

Two posts in two days? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS???????? As promised, to make up for the yesterday's depressing post, here's a happy one :)

I was contacted by the amazing Heather, a cancer survivor turned blogger to write a post about what I am thankful for because "If having cancer has taught me anything, it’s the value of life and the value of gratitude. My diagnosis was in November, and every year during the holiday season, I am reminded of this difficult time. Therefore, I have set out to acknowledge something in my life that I am thankful for every day throughout the month of December." How could I say no to a request like that? 

This might sound painfully obvious but I am eternally grateful for my family, friends and pets. My family has never left my side and have always been there for me when I need it most. They molded me into the person I am today and I cannot thank them enough for that. Don't even start me on the small things... I'd be lost if my dad never told me how to properly maintain my car, my mom helped start a support group for me so I wouldn't feel alone, my sister willingly does chores for me when I'm in too much pain to do so (which is often), and my grandma makes me nomerful dinners. I love them very much and am eternally thankful for their love and support. 

I'm just so incredibly thankful for the love and support of my family and friends. Since I have experienced many lows when it comes to friendship, I know the value of good ones. Here's a good example of how awesome my family and friends are. I turned 25 on December 4th but I wasn't exactly planning on doing anything special for it, I haven't been too keen on birthday parties since middle school, not to mention the whole "quarter-life crisis" thing. What do my family and friends do? They organize a surprise 25th birthday/watch the midseason finale of "The Walking Dead" party! I had a blast at my first real "party" in over a decade (even if I had lots of feels from watching "Santa" get his head chopped off with a katana). My family and friends are my happiness and my life would royally suck without them. *I just started singing that Kelly Clarkson song in my head :/* 

Last but not least, my furbabies. Before I begin to type this out I'd like to mention that Helen just had a nightmare and is now sleeping on one of my arms, it's numb and tingly. Let's see how typing with one hand goes! Ok, back to the subject. My animals are my comfort and my sanity. I am thankful for their unconditional love and snuggles. It is impossible for them to hate me and it's impossible for me to hate them. They know to give me extra snuggles when I'm in pain. It doesn't matter how craptacular my day was, when I see my piggies lined up for  salad my problems don't matter.

 

 I'll admit that 2013 wasn't the best year for me, but I am so thankful for what I have. I am extraordinarily blessed to have a support system that cares about me, I try to repay them to the best of my abilities, but it'll never be enough. So to those family and friends who know my blog, I say thank you. 

HAPPY 2014 Y'ALL! And thank you to all of my crippled comrades, I appreciate every last one of you :D

Crippie's Tippie - You can always find a cloud with a silver lining, regardless of how overcast it might seem

Crippie Meets A Bunch of Dead Relatives

Greetings

Yup, I still suck at posting regularly. On the bright side, April is another "National Health Blog Post Month" so hopefully that will get me back into a blogging routine again.

As today's title suggests, this week has been an interesting one. There was a death in the family over the weekend so I attended the funeral in NYC on Sunday. I don't want to say I had a "good time" but it was certainly an unusual day. Apart from seeing lots of living relatives I got to "meet" some of my relatives who are no longer with us. Before the service we went to a nearby cemetery to visit a family plot where some of my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents on my father's side are buried. It was nice to be formally introduced to them.

Those were not the only living-impared relatives I met on Sunday. Before I tell you, here's a little backstory. The funeral was held at the cemetery, it is a MASSIVE Jewish cemetery in NYC. When I say massive I mean MASSIVE. Dead Jews as far as the eye can see (yup, I'm going to hell). Here's picture of a teensy weensy corner so you can get a slight visual idea.

The relative we lost was on my father's side of the family. Once we found out which cemetery she'd be laid to rest in we realized we had other relatives there... on my mother's side of the family. We figured we'd visit them if we could, but hell, this cemetery is so huge chances are we won't be able to. Weeeeellllllllllllll it turns out that my newly deceased aunt on my father's side is buried eerily close to my relatives on my mother's side. Less than a 5 minute walk to visit both of 'em. That's pretty freaking amazing, especially considering the size of this place. Thus I was formally introduced to some of my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents on my mother's side. I enjoyed seeing my great-grandparents and giving them all their appropriate greetings. But man, it really is a small world after all.

After the service I went to a restaurant with my living relatives and we all celebrated my late aunt with family, memories, and delicious food.

I miss my aunt very much, she was a strong, independent women who loved life. She stayed strong all the way to the end. When she found out that her time was coming, she decided to make the best out of the situation and planned for a kick-ass service. Seriously, it was a lovely service and everything looked lovely, as per her specifications ;)

Love you Aunt Bobs, rise & fly.

Crippie's Tippie - Like I've said before, appreciate the people you have while you have them.

Crippie Crosses the Mason Dixon Line

CRIPPIE IS BACK EVERYONE!!!

And I swear NOW I will get back to regular posting. I had every intention of blogging during my vacation... but alas... no WiFi. Oh well. I hope y'all had an excellent New Years weekend. My week was certainly eventful. Ready for some pictures?

Friday - I spent 17 hours in the back seat of a car driving to Nashville. 

Saturday - Pretty much chilled with the family. Did some grocery shopping. BTW, I walked around the grocery without a cane! Big step right there! 

Sunday - I got to hang out with one of my cripple buddies! We walked around downtown Nashville (I used a cane because I know my limits) and had a jolly ol' time. I tried a bacon soda (not bad) and my cripple and I tried on some snazzy cowboy boots, only to find out that the tumors in our ankles, legs, and feet make boots like that really painful. So we took pictures to prove that we actually tried on said boots and took them off as fast as possible. But we had a great time and it was nice to be with a fellow cripple.

Monday - NEW YEAR'S EVE! My sister and I went to Franklin and walked around. I also went sans cane for that :) Later on the whole family met for lunch. I had some nomerful wings. After all the lunchness we went on a quick run to Costco. I actually managed to walk around Costco without a cane. I don't think I've ever done that before... super stores are crazy places. As for the actual New Year's Eve festivities I hung out at my aunt's house. We had lots of nosh and I got to watch Kathy Griffin's attempts at molesting Anderson Cooper. I also partook in a champagne toast for the New Year. It took lots of effort and lots of people laughing at my alcohol face... but I finished the damn glass of booze. 

Tuesday - More sight seeing. Went to a big ass mall... I needed to use a wheelchair for that, but it was probably for the best. While there my sister and I spotted this super special sign.

Wednesday - We went to the Carnton Plantation, which was used as a field hospital during the Battle of Franklin. It was extremely interesting to see, especially considering you can still see blood stains on the floors. Carnton Plantation is also allegedly haunted... and I completely believe that. While in the "operating room" I got rather queazy. I NEVER GET QUEAZY! This is the person who asks for pictures of her tumors! The room didn't faze me at all. Once I left the room I felt better... and then when I went back into the room I felt sick again. Weird, right? 

Later on I got to spend a lot of time with my relatives while have a very delicious dinner :3

Thursday - 16 hours in the back of a car. But I'm back in New York, safe and sound. 

I certainly had a blast over the past week, now it's time to get back into the swing of things! HAPPY 2013 EVERYBODY!

Crippie's Tippie - Make sure you have lots of really awesome pain medications when you're traveling. You'll need 'em.

Play It By Ear

Ello!

I hope y'all had a great weekend and Monday. My weekend went as well as it could have considering the circumstances. The unveiling went very well and I got to spend time with my relatives. We paid tribute to my aunt in the best way we could... we ate massive amounts of food and celebrated her life. My aunt was a very special person and she will never be forgotten. As her headstone says "Always loving... always loved."

In non-death related news, my sleep schedule is starting to regulate. Granted, I'm still falling asleep at ungodly hours of the night, but not as terrible as weeks prior. I'll probably obtain some melatonin one of these days to help get my ass to sleep faster.

It's hard to believe it's almost been a month since my surgery, and I'm pretty much fully recovered. The incision area is still a teensy bit sore, but it's completely bearable. The scar hasn't keloided yet, but it is a lovely dark pink color. Now that my sciatic nerve is free from irritation my right leg seems to moving easier, and my limp is getting better, my leg still drags a little... but it's not noticeable to the untrained eye.

In pet news, we have a sad little pooch on our hands. Poor Angel has a double ear infection :( . She HATES having anyone touch her ears and God help you if you try to put medicine in 'em. Let's just say we're gonna have a lot of fun trying to muzzle her twice a day to give her the meds *sigh*. Oh well, the joys of being a pet owner. Angel's probably gonna hate us for the next few weeks. We do have some handy dandy turkey to bribe her into liking us again though. In the meantime she requests healing ninja vibes and healing yummy turkeys.

MY LIFE IS SO HARD!!!!!

Crippie's Tippie - Dog mad at you? Feed 'em until they forgive you ;)

Crippie Remembers Her Auntie

Hello,

Sorry for the lack of posts, it's been a sad week at Crippie's household. As mentioned in my last post, my aunt was very sick. She finally won her battle of lung cancer and passed away early Saturday morning. Naturally I am very sad but I'm doing my best to look on the "bright side" of this whole situation, which is that she is no longer suffering (btw... if any of my readers are smokers and/or are doing something that increases their chances of lung cancer... STOP NOW. Lung cancer is a terrible way to go. I cannot even begin to describe how much pain my aunt was in. I cannot describe how much the cancer destroyed her body. Please, do not be ignorant and think this cannot happen to you, it can happen to anyone. My aunt did not smoke cigarettes and yet it happened to her).

My aunt was an amazing person. She never really complained about anything, and like me, always looked on the bright side. The last time I saw her (which was two weeks ago) she was in very poor shape. We asked how she was doing and she said "Not terrible, I mean I wish I could walk but I'm mentally strong". She never believed in speaking ill about anyone. Regardless of how much a person might have been annoying her they were still "very nice". This is something everyone should try their best do, partly because anything bad they say can come back to bite them in the ass, but mainly because you never know if that horrible statement could be the last thing you say about them. She loved art and music. We both share a love for Simon & Garfunkel, her favorite song was Cecelia. She was a kind, loving, beautiful (even the Rabbi speaking at her funeral said she was hot) person. She will be forever missed and forever loved. Rise & Fly Auntie, love you lots.

The next couple of days and weeks will be difficult, but a quote from Stephen Sondheim's musical "Into The Woods" helps me and gives me comfort...

Crippie's typographic rendition of Sondheim's quote.

Crippie's Tippie- For more information on lung cancer, go to this link.