Sleep and dreams

I'm wondering if anyone can relate to this post.

Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I cannot for the life of me remember what day it is! Of course it comes back to me after thinking about it for a few minutes, but it's such a strange feeling!

The other weird thing is when I'm dreaming that I'm either mad at someone, or someone is mad at me. For example, I was having a dream right before I woke up this morning that my mom was mad at me. She wasn't, of course, but that's what makes it so strange! Another example is when someone is being mean to me in my dream, and I wake up mad at them! It's always such a bizarre feeling. I have dreams like this fairly frequently, and I don't know why. Fortunately, it's only a dream, right?!

Scars and broken bones

Before my car accident I'd never broken a bone and I hadn't had any major health problems. No stitches, surgeries or scars. When I had my accident I broke my first bone(s) – my pelvis, a few ribs and my neck. My injuries were severe, so I had my first of many surgeries, which of course resulted in scars. Some of my scars are smaller than others, but I've got some great ones!

Here's a little bit about my three favorites: I have a long, 12" scar down my abdomen (breastbone to pubic bone) from the emergency surgery that I had right after my accident. I had severe internal trauma, so they opened me up to survey the damage. They stopped the internal bleeding and removed my ruptured spleen. After that they closed me up and put me back together with 40 staples. (It looked like a zipper.) Over the years my scar has faded from purple to red to pink, but it's still there, serving as a reminder of my very first surgery.

Second are two scars on my neck that are from the surgery when my neck was stabilized. This was a very tricky surgery that took eight hours, instead of the predicted four. The surgeon first tried to get to my spine by cutting into my neck from the front. This was unsuccessful, so they had to carefully turn my body over so that the surgeon could cut into the back of my neck. The surgeon later told my mom that he'd never seen a neck that was so badly broken where the person was still alive. This was a sobering fact! The scars on my neck aren't nearly as visible as they once were, especially the one on the back of my neck since it's now covered with hair. (They had to shave the back half of my head to do the surgery.)

By far my favorite and most grizzly looking scar is on the underside of my right forearm. When I was in the emergency room right after my accident, I had several IVs and I was hooked up to all sorts of different drugs. In one of my IVs I was being given potassium, and the IV infiltrated. (This means that the IV slipped out of the vein, but the potassium was still flowing, so it pooled on the inside of my arm, resulting in a terrible burn.) My skin was basically charred from the inside out, and I had a thick, black scab of charred skin that was about 6 inches long and 2 or 3 inches wide. This thick scab had to later be cut off with surgical scissors. Remarkably, it didn't hurt at all. Although I could feel the pressure of being touched, I felt no pain. This wound was very deep (deep enough that I could see the tendons in my arm) and it took months to heal. I'm always proud to show people this scar since it has such a great story to go with it!

As much as I love my scars, they are nothing compared to the scars that my two younger sisters have. They are both burn survivors and have extensive scars covering much of their bodies. (Fortunately, their scars are mostly in places that are covered by clothing.) I love their scars since I feel it says so much about them; what they've been through and how they both survived such horrible injuries. I'm sure they both feel differently than I do about having scars, but I really admire them both.

Ludicrous!

Yesterday I was watching the news and I heard something that I thought was crazy. Bristol Palin is coming to Washington University in St. Louis in a few months to talk to the students about abstinence and teen pregnancy. Although I don't think she's the best person to speak on that topic, the thing that really irritated me was that she's getting paid $20,000 for her services. I can understand her getting paid for airfare and other travel expenses, but $20,000 is just outrageous!

Does anyone else think this is crazy?!

Betty White… so cute!

I saw an interview with Betty White on The Early Show this morning, and I think she is so cute! She's 89 years old, but she's so lively and with it. She said she really loves working, and she talked about a new Hallmark Hall of Fame movie that she's in this Sunday on CBS called The Lost Valentine. It looks really cute and my mom and I are planning on watching it together.

One thing that has always impressed me about Betty White is the love that she has for her late husband, Allen Ludden. Even though Allen has been dead for almost 30 years, Betty White is always saying that he is her one true love. I find that so endearing!

I love watching old episodes of Password, a game show that was hosted by Allen Ludden. I especially like the episodes where Betty White is a guest. Here's a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDjeaChO7YE

Go Gabby!

I can really relate to Gabrielle Giffords – the congresswomen who was shot in the Tucson shooting on January 8. No, I've never been shot in the head, and Gabby wasn't paralyzed in a car accident, however, we've both been through tragic accidents that have left us physically damaged. I've heard a lot about Gabby and her medical condition on the news. She's making miraculous progress, which is great.

Earlier this week she was moved to a rehabilitation hospital in Texas. I can't help but think back to seven years ago when I went to a rehab hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Gabby is going to have months of rehab ahead of her, and most likely a lifetime of health issues, but if her track record so far is any indication of how she will do him rehab, then I predict she will do very well.

It's crazy to think how your life can change so dramatically in an instant, and how it can impact you every day for the rest of your life. No one ever thinks they're going to be involved in a life-changing accident, but once it happens it changes everything.

I'm pulling for you, Gabby, and hope you keep making miraculous progress!