Chef update...

I haven't updated you lately on how the chef is doing mainly because she's been in academics this trimester and physically it hasn't been as challenging. And now that she has "Leo", her wheelchair, she's able to head off the pain in her feet/ankles much of the time. For instance, if she knows she'll be on her feet a lot or will need to drive somewhere later in the day, she'll use Leo early in the day so the pain levels are manageable. She used to have to keep plugging along and then deal with the pain afterward with ice/drugs. Now she can head it off. I'm sure it confuses the other students on campus when sometimes they see her in a wheelchair and sometimes she's walking across campus like it's no big deal. More than one student has come up to her to ask if she's just goofing off with the wheelchair. Surely she doesn't really need one. No doubt she gets tired of having to explain it. And unless you've been along for her journey for the past 3 years, I'm not sure it's possible to understand it.
Amy wraps up her academic trimester in mid-November and begins culinary labs soon afterward. No doubt it's weighing heavily on her mind. Last year during labs she was in constant pain and then had to deal with the lymph node/cancer scare. And this year she has to make up one of the segments she missed during that time. She's going to give it her best shot and will just have to take it one day at a time. Because she's beginning to feel "secondary symptoms" of her pain disorder, we've decided to try to get her back to the Mayo Clinic...this time to be seen by pain mgmt specialists. The location in Phoenix doesn't have a pain mgmt dept, so we'll have to schedule this visit with the Rochester, MN clinic. I discovered this week that a Dr referral is needed in order for her to be seen, so on Wednesday that was faxed over. I can't call again until Monday at the earliest to set up the appointment; they need time to process the referral. The only chunk of time Amy has during the school year is the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, so that's what we're shooting for. We'll try our darndest to get affordable flights, but given that it's a busy time for travelers, we might have to take our chances with winter weather and drive it...14 hours each way across the plains of Nebraska. So I guess we have a couple of prayer requests currently...that we can make an appointment sooner rather than later and that we can find affordable flights. As we get closer our prayer will be for good travel conditions...whether we fly or drive. Amy has to be back in labs on 4 January, so we don't have a lot of wiggle room with our time.
Thanks for being faithful with your prayers. I'm amazed at how many people ask about Amy and are holding her close in thought and prayer. What a blessing to us when we know no one is exempt from needing prayer support. By the way, Amy sends out e-mail updates about once a week from school just to let friends/family know how life is on campus. If you'd like to receive these e-mails, feel free to contact me with your e-mail address and I'll make sure you're added. (Yes, she gave me permission to tell you about the updates.)
Ok, hopefully you feel updated. It was kind of nice to relax a bit lately...nothing major to talk about. Calm is good!

Chile rescue

Is everyone else as captivated by the rescue of the miners in Chile as I am? I'm finding this quite fascinating and I can hardly focus on anything else right now. What a miracle this is! I can't even fathom the emotions of those who are key players in this drama. It's been just incredible. Twenty-eight miners rescued so far. Wow! It's easy to get caught up in the joy and excitement of this success story. What we need to keep in mind, however, is that it's all unfolding just as God intends. He's chosen to bless this mission so far, but even if things go south before it's all over, He's still in control and His plan is still perfect. I hope and pray for continued success. But I'll still praise Him if things change in the next few hours. And now...back to the live coverage!

How much can I pack into 24 hours, anyway?

Yesterday it was all about Bethany's 17th birthday, beginning with making french silk chocolate pie in the morning...her favorite. Is my youngest really 17? She's growing up so beautifully, and I adore her! Last night her boyfriend, best friend and her parents, and my mom & dad came over for pie. Lots of laughs and love as we honored this awesome girl.
Today I picked up mom & dad and we headed to Denver to spend the day with Amy. She needed groceries and hugs from home, and we were happy to oblige. We met one of her favorite people on campus, Professor Wells. If only I'd had such teachers when I was in college...what a great guy! I can see why she loves his classes. We also met Jean, the disability lady who is trying so hard to make the campus more accessible for Amy. She's a great advocate for our girl and speaks quite highly of her. After pushing Amy in her wheelchair today I can see how frustrating things are...ramps that are steep and difficult to maneuver...buttons which are supposed to open doors but aren't working...ramps that lead to stairs...etc. It's all difficult and change is very slow in coming. But together Jean and Amy are determined to work on the things that are so important to anyone in a wheelchair. It'll happen, but it won't happen quickly enough for our girl, I'm afraid. Still, she keeps smiling and impacting those she comes into contact with on campus...we heard wonderful things about our girl from those who are blessed to know her.
The highlight of Amy's day was receiving her first set of wheels which we bought yesterday...a 2009 PT Cruiser. Now she'll have options other than places on the bus line when it's time to do her internship. She won't have to rely on Phil or her other friends to get her to the grocery. And when she needs to go to the various restaurants that she needs to write reviews for, she can drive herself! We named her car "Ruby", and she and Amy look quite good together!

I know, I know...it's been almost a week since I last wrote. Sorry. My computer was crazy this week and kept locking up on me. There was very little I could do, and my "tech support" was in Utah until Friday evening. Thankfully, Laura & Ian came home and spent many, many hours getting my laptop up and working again. It was a painful process...there was SO much to do! But now I'm back, and I'm a happy girl! I've become a geek just like the rest of my family, I'll admit it. I was rather lost until they got me up and running again.
It was wonderful to see Laura & Ian. They hadn't been home since school began in early August, so it was wonderful to wrap my arms around them. They worked really hard on homework so they could just relax when they got here. Yeah, I know...they worked on my computer. But to a Mines student, that IS relaxing! At one point we had 5 laptops open and it really was a geekfest! Ian did manage to play paintball for part of the weekend, so it wasn't all work. And Laura was able to try on her wedding dress; it was quite stunning on her. We never really did get to talk about wedding plans, but that's ok. There's still time.
Brian is enjoying being home again after being away all but 18 hours in the past 3 weeks. He'll be teaching online from home this week. Since he'll be here to keep an eye on Annie and to get Bethany to/from school, I'm going to head to Denver on Wednesday with my parents to take our chef to lunch and to the grocery. She really wants me to meet a couple of people on campus, so this will be a good chance to do so. She's holding up ok despite the insane amount of homework she's trying to keep up with. Did I mention she's taking 22.5 academic hours this trimester? So far, so good, but it wears me out to think about it! Ah, to be young again!
Bethany has been counting down the hours until her boyfriend gets home from visiting his mom in Alabama. He's been gone almost a month and will roll in tomorrow evening just in time to celebrate her 17th birthday on Tuesday. How did our youngest get this age when she was just a baby the other day?!!
I'm doing well...Annie's doing well, too. It's been a sweet few days.