I went to work today. Almost a full 8 hours. I tried to limit my activity... I tried to keep my foot elevated... I took Ibuprofen...

I tried... but when I got home this evening my foot was throbbing, it was bleeding again, and I could hardly get my dog Sadie out for her evening constitutional!

Needless to say, I ate some dinner, took a Lortab, elevated my foot, and packed it in snow. Yes, snow! You see, I still have between 2 or 3 feet of that white fluffy stuff right outside my door. It's better than crushed ice! It is very cold, very light, and easily formable/moldable around odd shaped parts!

Tomorrow, I am going to work again. But it will be a short day, I will be more diligent about elevation, and I will be sure to use some ice!

I had an interesting reception at work today. Of course I had to go through the typical ribbing, jokes, and comments about milking the system... but I also had several people continuously say they were sorry, almost everytime I ran into them. This made me wonder why?

Why were they sorry? They weren't involved, they weren't there, they couldn't have done anything to prevent or lessen the outcome. Why were they sorry?

Was it compassion? Was it empathy? Sympathy? Better you than me (that is, There by the Grace of God go I...)?

After I had told the story and gave an update on my status for about the 10th time, I finally got it!

These were my friends and they were concerned. For most it was compassion for a fellow co-worker, a friend that was injured. For some it was sympathy. And for one or two it was empathy as they too had been injured at work... not necessarily in the same way, but none the less.

This made me proud and humbled at the same time! Here were people that were expressing their concern and love for me in each of their own ways. I am part of a team at work. My absence for a couple of days was felt.

I am proud to be associated with such a fine group of people! I am humbled that they consider me an important part of the team!

So, to:

Amy, Dr. Cashmore, Dr. Knecht, Suzie, Martha, Sharon, Shar, Tracey, Liz, Jim, Chris, Dr. Norris, Garret, AnneMarie, Katy, Karen, Laurie, Tubby, Inez, Norma, Dr. Mellinger, Dr. Bonatus, Jen, Shannon, Neva, Nicole, and everyone else...

Thank you!