Letters for George: A Picture of Katja's Arm

Thursday, November 18, 2010

A Picture of Katja's Arm

Dear George,

Readers who’ve been following this blog probably remember that Katja fell off a wobbly stool and fractured her right arm about eight weeks ago. That turned our lives topsy-turvy. Though we take our functioning limbs for granted, it’s been a powerful reminder of just how crucial one’s right arm is for daily living, from cutting one’s steak to getting in and out of the car. For the first two weeks Katja was in acute pain, heavily medicated, and unable to do much beyond lying in bed. By the fifth week she’d begun physical therapy over at University Hospital, and, though it hurt a lot, you could see the progress after each session. Katja was highly motivated to do her homework too, pulling her arm up and down on a pulley, stretching out across the table, swinging her arm like a pendulum, etc. Yesterday she went in for her four-week checkup with Dr. J, her orthopedist. They took X-rays first, and he put two of them up on a lighted screen (see the picture above). Dr. W smiled. He showed us where the new bone had grown in and how the fracture had almost disappeared. It had been a really bad break, and now it was doing really well. He asked Katja how her flexibility was. She lifted her arm straight upward, then outward, then to the side, all with no difficulty at all. Dr. J said, “That’s amazing!” Maybe it’s just good doctoring, but he seemed truly impressed. He wrote a note clearing Katja to return to work on Monday. He said she’s probably not ready to drive 150 miles a day, but she’ll do things as she finds herself ready for them. We both felt a little intoxicated as we walked out to the elevator. Katja drove us home, the second time she’s driven this week. A big gray cloud was lifted from above our heads. Things do work themselves out. Hooray!

Love,

Dave

G-Mail Comments

-Donna D (11-18): this is so wonderful. wish i knew how to read what is on the xray! donna

-Vicki L (11-18): Hi David, Thanks for the x-ray shot... (doesn't Katja have delicate and feminine bones?) What a relief! And how inspirational. Tell her I'm very proud of her. Love, Vicki

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BLOG POSTING SCHEDULE, CONTENT, SOURCES, FOCUS, ETC.

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-Larger main posts at left: usually a new addition every one to two weeks.

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-SOURCES: Personal photos (e.g., family) are by myself or sometimes by another family member. Nonpersonal photos are usually obtained through Google Images. Nonpersonal factual info most frequently comes from Wikipedia and external links available there or from Google searches. Typically I cite sources at the end of the post. If you want to know a source and haven't located it through info I provide, Wikipedia, Google, or Google Images, please let me know at lundgrdc@gmail.com, and I should be able to help.

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MARCH 2024 HOLIDAYS

MARCH 2024 HOLIDAYS

Sun., Mar. 10. Daylight Saving Time starts. Clocks move forward one hour at 2 a.m. // Sun., Mar. 17. St. Patrick’s Day. Celebrating one of Ireland’s patron saints and Irish-American culture in the U.S. // Wed., Mar. 20. Spring Equinox. One of two annual equinoxes in which the length of night and day are nearly equal. // Thurs., Mar. 21. World Poetry Day. Promoting linguistic expression through poetry. // Sat., Mar. 23. Purim starts. A Jewish holiday which commemorates Jews being saved from extermination in Persia. // (Source: wincalendar.com)

CINCINNATI NEWS

CINCINNATI NEWS

According to ratings by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, Cincinnati ranks 4th best in parks among the nation’s 100 largest cities. 88% of Cincinnati residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Neighborhoods where most people identify as a person of color have access to 4% less park space than those in predominantly white neighborhoods. Park amenities ranked high for Cincinnati in categories of basketball hoops, playgrounds, bathrooms, recreation, senior centers, and splash pads. Dog parks were much lower, only 1.6 dog parks per 100K people. Cities ranked higher than Cincinnati were Arlington, VA, St. Paul, MN, and Washington, D.C. (wcpo.com, 5-5-22)

EVERYDAY FOIBLES

EVERYDAY FOIBLES

I have one pair of prescription glasses for reading, one for distance (driving, movies). I also have a dozen $1.00 reading glasses from the Dollar Store so I can keep my prescription pair permanently on our dining room table. Of course I lost my distance glasses two years ago. I’ve been sure they was somewhere around the house, but I’ve scoured everywhere. Last week I got ready to go to my writers group and picked out a pair of reading glasses from my bedside table. One had orange and purple rims, one green and yellow, and one dark brown. I chose the conservative dark brown pair. At my group I tried reading with them, but everything was blurry. I was sure they weren’t Katja’s glasses, but they certainly weren’t my reading glasses. Back home Katja suggested that maybe they were my distance glasses. I looked out the window, and the house down the block was in clearer focus. So my lost distance glasses have been sitting next to my bed for the past two years.

FAMOUS POETS

FAMOUS POETS

Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1888. His father, a prosperous businessman, sent him to Milton Academy and Harvard where he excelled. At Harvard Eliot studied philosophy, earning a master’s degree under George Santayana. He then studied linguistics, poetry, and philosophy at the Sorbonne and at Oxford University, settling in England after his studies, working as a banker, and writing poetry. Eliot published his first masterpiece, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, in 1917, and he followed it with “The Waste Land” in 1922, a long poem that had tremendous impact on Western literature. Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted Eliot’s 1939 children’s book, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” into the stage musical “Cats”, one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history. Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1948, Eliot died in 1965. (Tessitore, Extraordinary American Writers, 2004)

MY WEEK (Mon., 4/15 - Sun., 4/21/24)

MY WEEK (Mon., 4/15 - Sun., 4/21/24)

Katja had appointments with her primary care physician and pain doctor. She had a fall at T.J. Maxx, banged her head, and was taken to emergency by ambulance but turned out o.k. We toured the new Clifton Cultural Arts Center, complained that they didn’t have our name in the wall of donors. I put most of my academic library out for graduate students in preparation for moving offices at the university. We had dinner out at Longhorn Steakhouse, chop steak for me, lamb chops for Katja. I shed a tear at Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office on PBS.