"He was the handsomest thing ever..."

On Saturday, Rachel and I decided it was finally time go out shopping for our Father's Day present after learning the theme was "grill" this year and our job was to buy steak for the grill. So, we headed to the local Omaha Steaks to pick out some beef for dad. Well, as we strolled into the store, we started looking at different cuts of beef. As we started comparing the cuts of meat, the worst customer service fiasco went down right in front of us.
A women had come in with a coupon she wanted to use in making a purchase. The man who was helping her continued to insist that the coupon she was using would not be valid for her particular purchase because it was for a different item or larger purchase...something different than what she wanted to use it for. Well, the two fought for what seemed to be like forever but only maybe a minute or two. It ultimately came down to the man basically shaming the customer out of the store through a fighting/yelling match. Rach and I could barely move while it was going, let alone decide on whether we were buying the prime beef or fillet.
After she left, we slowly regrouped and made a quick decision on our choice. Another man was our cashier rather than one who had shamed the lady away. As we waited to pay, an older woman stood next to us also finishing a purchase. She smiled at me and I responded with a smile and a hi back. She took a second more and then asked the question which was on the tip of her tongue.
"I am curious what happened to you..? I was a nurse." She was obviously asking why I was in a wheelchair. I explained that I had broken a leg but that I was also normally in a wheelchair full time anyway.
She responded, "AH, I see. I kind of was wondering that. I am very used to getting wheelchairs in and out of cars. My husband lost his legs in the Korean War, so I was always getting him in and out of cars." This older lady spoke with such love about her late husband. I was close to tearing up as she told me about him.
I told her, "It's so great that you could serve him like that." She had probably one of the best responses I've ever heard.
"Oh, well he was the handsomest thing ever, at two feet high." I couldn't help but laugh as she slightly joked about him not having legs but she did it in such an endearing way.
She continued by telling me, "You know I never knew him any other way but I loved him so much." After this interaction we both left after saying goodbye. This women had a love for her husband that was incredible. She didn't hesitate in sharing with me how much she cared for him, whether disabled or not. The love that she had for him went beyond his disability and was truly a treasure. This interaction was a gift to me. It is obviously a fear and a reality that some people have a difficult time look beyond the wheels that drive me around. But this lady, (along with my dear sister-in-law) modeled a love for her husband that not only looked beyond but through the disability into a person and companion for life.

Troking Incident...

DISCLAIMER 1: I don't love this title - Let me know if you can think of something better
DISCLAIMER 2: Be ready to laugh your pants off - this is hysterical

So, this morning my dad told me we needed to leave around 7 so he could drop me off at my internship work and he would go to his hospital. So I got up at 6 and got dressed, make up done, lunch packed, hair pulled up all in time to leave. Well, right before leaving my mom had put up my hair and told me to go look at it. I also needed to grab my purse and backpack for the day. At the end of the school year, I discovered I loved using backpack for carrying around large amounts of needed things, like my computer. I took a glance at the mirror to make sure my hair looked ok and quickly grabbed my turquoise, plaid backpack. I do this awesome swing around move to get the bag on my shoulders. This morning I was moving especially fast because Dad was already in the car waiting for me. As I swung the bag around with its especially heavy contents, I suddenly found myself on my back, laying on top of my backpack with my legs up in the air and my arms flailing upwards. As soon as it happened I yelled out of frustrating, my brother Tim happened to be walking toward the bathroom. He timidly asked me, "Are you dressed?" I responded with a simple, somewhat defeated yes. Once my brother and my mom walked around the corner to see me clearly being out-weighed by my backpack - we all burst out in laughter! Mom and Tim swiftly helped me up in order for me to head outside and go to work. It was definitely one of the funniest ways to fall and be seen by others. The next time I put on my backpack, I will remember to be careful it doesn't weigh too much and that I'm not trying to move to quickly. :) What a troking incident to have happen at 7 a.m.

"That's enough projectile vomit for one day..."

Well....That may seem like a graphic quote for a title but it has seemed to literally explain my past week. My two friends have probably seen me almost, if not, my worst at least for a few moment.
On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, my friend Lizzy Erb and I were headed up to the Milwaukee area for our friends David and Lindsey's wedding. We had to leave especially early because it was a 10 a.m. wedding ceremony. For some reason, we ended up leaving even earlier then we actually needed to but God knew we needed the extra time.
We stopped for Panera breakfast and speedily headed our way up north. We spent almost the entire time chatting away about our post-college stress disorder (PCSD) and other imp
ortant topics. Well, about half-way up on the ride, I started not feeling super hot and a little nauseous. But I didn't say anything because 1) I didn't want to admit I wasn't feeling well and 2) I though not acknowledging it would make it go away. Well, eventually I had to admit I wasn't feeling well but this came a tad too late. About one minute after actually telling Lizzy I wasn't feeling, I vomited in my purse and some on her dashboard.
After shedding a couple tears and calming my body shakes, I immediately started laughing. At this point, Lizzy had entered mom care-taker mode as she reassured me we had plenty of time to stop by target to get some ginger ale and shout wipes. Lizzy also pointed out that I could've used the empty panera bag sitting right next to me rather than my rather full, bright pink, target purse. I wasn't thinking clearly so it seemed like the most logical solution.
After entering target, I realized there was no use for trying to salvage my vomit and coffee spills on my dress with a shout wipe so I picked out a super cute new one or 20 dollars. It was even 9:30 a.m. It made for a great story to tell during the day. Probably one of my favorite people that I told this story to was the Graham Aitken. He had heard it once and then brought it up later while at the reception by telling Lizzy, "That's enough projectile vomit for one day." Not everybody at the table had heard the story so I again told everyone my crazy day before the wedding. Graham loved the fact that I threw up in my purse rather than the empty paper bag...:) which is quite humorous.
Lizzy saw me in one of most ridiculous moments of throwing up and was an amazing friend. She didn't even stop to think about herself or how disgusting it was that I had just puked on her buggie. I am so thankful for Lizzy – she was so awesome during the time of crisis. Overall the wedding day ended up being really awesome after the early morning drama.
The second moments and friend who saw me at my worst over these past couple of weeks was Jesse Flanagan. As I wrote in my last blog, I’ve been volunteering for a congressional campaign with Jesse. Well, just about a week ago, I went in to work with Jesse on Friday. We had spent a good part of the morning doing work and different types of research as we worked together. Right around the time that we usually break for lunch for a few minutes, I decided to head towards the bathroom, which ended up being one of the worst trips I have ever made.
As I stood up and was about to sit back down on my chair, I fell extremely hard on the floor. After the immediate cries and cursing, Jesse came running (at least that’s what I imagined he did) to see how I need help. Well, after composing myself, I had him open the door to me sitting with my arm resting on the toilet as tears streamed down my face. I was able to laugh about the fact that I was resting on the toilet. Finally I scooted my way out of the bathroom and sat on the floor. Jesse offered any help I would need but I decided to take a few minutes to rest.
My left leg was extremely piercing in pain which would not relent. Jesse sat there with me as I cried, trying to be strong but ultimately giving up. After a couple of minutes, I sloppily explained that I didn’t know if something was wrong or not because I have a hard time centralizing my pain because of my nerve disorder. Jesse calmly offered the idea of calling my nearby sister, Rachel, to come help me. She headed over immediately once hearing about the fall, although it would still be about 20 minutes.
I knew as I sat there that Ben (the guy running for congress) would be coming in soon. My whole being fought against wanting him to see me like that – it is so freaking hard to let a stranger see you at your worst moment. Within a couple of minutes, Ben arrived slightly confused over me sitting near the bathroom on the floor and Jesse nearby on the couch. After the explanation, we sat and waited for Rachel, occasionally talking some business while I hid my tears as my leg throbbed. Once Rach came, we decided right away to go to urgent care. Ben and Jesse collected my stuff and helped me get into my chair and the car. Jesse helped me get into my chair but giving me a big hug and sliding me over. He told me later that next time I should just ask for a hug.  Jesse possibly saw me at my worst but was an incredible friend through it all.
After an extremely long urgent care visit, the doc told me I had fractured my fibula, the smaller lower leg bone. I was given a script of Vicodin and a referral to an orthopedist. I now have an awesome black boot and am going in 10 days to get it xrayed to see how the healing is going.
It’s been a rough week. I won’t lie. A broken leg bone hurts like hell. And it is hard because it’s disabling to me even more so. I’ve had multiple breakdowns which are often pain-induced about it. The fear that something could take away even more of my mobility is always there and even more so when something like this happens. I know God is there and I need to put my complete trust in him, especially with my fears but I don’t have that figured out right now. If you think of me, pray that I would be able to do this and also for healing of my leg.
What I do know is that my friends and family have been amazing. Lizzy, Jesse, Rachel, I can’t thank you all enough for helping me through my worst. I literally could not be here without you guys. If I were by myself right now, I would be wearing a vomit, coffee-stained dress and have an unprotected broken leg. You guys have been a huge blessing along with everyone else who has helped me this week. Thank you so much.