Sigg Bottles

I finally made the investment of purchasing two Sigg bottles ($22 each) for my water drinking needs. One for work and the other for home/the gym.

I HIGHLY recommend them! Oprah does too.... =)

Ready to Pump (clap) Me Up!

Last fall I won a work-out session with a professional body-builder at my work. Due to one freaking thing after another we hadn't had that session until just last Friday. Ouch! I'm sore!

I lifted free-weights with my friend Jan for TWO HOURS on Friday. I think she not only kicked my ass, she kicked every single other part of my body too. Except my back. For some bizarre reason, my back is stronger than hers. But I'm (or rather my muscle groups are) unbalanced. Heh.

I am so energized and motivated to keep it up! My friends Helmut and B are both working with a dude personal trainer (also a body-builder) and they are really starting to see results! I need to lose like 30 lbs and all I have to do at this point is KEEP GOING!!!

Jan gave me a little 3" x 5" card with directions on it and everything. I may even go out and buy those weight lifting gloves like she has. God, I'm about to be a weight lifting dork.

Augusten Burroughs

First, let me say that I LOVE and adore the writings of Augusten Burroughs. Dry was phenomenal, I adored Magical Thinking and Possible Side Effects. I anticipated the arrival of his newest book, "A Wolf at the Table, A Memoir of My Father." *sigh*

It just wasn't what I've grown to love or expect. So much of the material was already shared in other books (Running With Scissors especially) and it lacked the humor that his other books used to mesmerize me. Really, I ordered it as soon as it was available on Amazon.com and it was just such a letdown.

I still love Augusten Burroughs, and feel like I'm reading a letter or an e-mail from a dear friend when I read his writings. Please, I'm begging you, write more books like the last few compilations. No more like this one....

R.I.P. Rachel

I knew her since I was born. She played dolls with me, and we swam together, and she always had an amazing imagination.

It seems like I just went to visit her in the hospital, although the truth is it was months ago. She knew that she was dying, and she wrote her own obituary.

My dad's best friend's daughter Rachel passed away last Monday. I'll miss her presence and her spirit.



Hitch, Rachel Meredith
MADISON
Rachel Meredith Hitch, 41, of Madison, died May 5, 2008, at Meriter Hospital after a long illness.

Rachel was born Jan. 2, 1967, in Ypsilanti, Mich. with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a condition often called "brittle bones." This presented challenges for Rachel, but she managed to live an exceptional life in the face of these challenges.

From an early age she learned how to live in an environment that was natural for Rachel though she endured many broken bones. Her family moved to Madison in 1971, and Rachel was schooled at Lapham Elementary School, and was the poster child for Easter Seals in 1976. She graduated from Memorial High School in 1985. Rachel had a role in the school play her senior year performing with a fracture (It was a bad joke to tell Rachel to "break a leg").

She went on to attend the University of Wisconsin and was a guest lecturer in the Women Studies programs. She advised the university on a task force to help bring more accessibility to the Madison campus. Rachel was a talented writer and published author of children's stories. She studied American Sign Language and used this skill to aid parent-teacher communications.

During and after college, Rachel lived on her own, usually in downtown Madison where she could be close to State Street and her favorite coffee shops. She moved to San Francisco for a time, but returned to Madison for health reasons. Rachel loved to travel and accompanied her father on many trips to Asia and Europe. She learned a great deal about accessibility in the world's business centers.

Rachel is survived by her father, Lawrence J. Hitch of Madison; and her mother, Sandra L. Christensen (and James L. Christensen) of Madison. She is survived by her brother. Lawrence J. Hitch Jr. (and Lisa Petros) of Madison; her sister, Hilary A. Christensen (and David T. Peng) of Middleton; and her brother, Lee J. Christensen (and Laura Richards) of Madison. Also, she is survived by her nephews, Damian Petros of Madison and Theron and Brannic Peng of Middleton.

We will all miss Rachel deeply, as will her countless friends here in the Madison area, San Francisco, and other parts of the country. We wish to extend our thanks to Dr. Bernard Micke, who was Rachel's doctor, friend, and confidant for more than 30 years, and to the staff at Meriter that became well acquainted with her over the last few years, and provided her with such wonderful care. We are also grateful to Rachel's many caretakers.

A Celebration of Life memorial is planned for June 1, 2008, at RENNEBOHM PARK, 115 N. Eau Claire Ave., Madison, starting at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations can be made in Rachel's name to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, PO Box 630342, Baltimore, MD 21263-0342.

Rachel had a favorite saying that we think says so much about her - "Magic Happens."

My trip to the ER

I swear that I've been to the ER about 3 times in the past year and a half, and maybe ONCE in my whole life before that.

Last week I woke up around 2 AM and had a spasm in my left trapezius muscle. It was painful all the way to the front of my chest. I REALLY wanted a muscle relaxer, but was too lazy to get out of bed to take one. I was awake until about 4 AM and then made it back to sleep (just in time to get up at 6 for work!).

At work, I had just finished my morning coffee, when I was still having pain and decided to take that muscle relaxer after all. I put it to my lips, and swallowed it with some water. IMMEDIATELY my whole body was on fire. I was so hot, and my skin was tingling. Even my scalp and the tips of my fingers were tingling. AGH!!! This thing was IN me, and there was no way to get it out. What was happening?

My first thought was to run to the ladies room and start taking clothes off (to combat the burning up sensation) then I realized that I should NOT leave the people to go be alone somewhere.

I ran to my friend Ray's cube. About a million miles and hour I said, "I just took a muscle relaxer and now I'm all hot and tingling and I don't know what to do but I'm scared I'm having an allergic reaction and can you take me to the hospital?" Ray was staring at me with the widest eyes ever. And then someone on his phone said something. "Are you on a conference call?" I asked. He nodded his head, I said "FUCK!" and I wheeled around and ran out of his cube to find my next friend.

Two friends later I found someone who was able to take me immediately to the ER. After getting dropped off at the ER the intake nurse took my vitals. I had a fever, my heart rate was 120, I had hives on my arms, and my blood pressure was elevated. The good news is I could TOTALLY still breathe!

I was at the ER (with electrodes all over my chest) for two hours, and other than the monitoring, I just took a Benedryl to combat the allergic reaction.

Apparently we aren't allergic to something until we are. I am NEVER allowed to take those muscle relaxers again!

Can you imagine if I had taken it at 2 AM when I was home alone though?

Chylothorax Update

Aldo was starting to have a little bit of chyle fluid on his bi-monthly trip to the vet. Not much mind you, but it had previously been down to NONE so even 70 mls was bothering me deep in the pit of my stomach.

My amazing vet (Dr. Erin) called Aldo's surgeon and he said that simply have the port in Aldo *could* cause him to have almost a liter of chyle every other week. So the amounts we are finding are negligible. I finally got to decrease his steroid pills by one per day, and that's making a BIG difference in the potty (and sleep) schedules at my house!

The good news is, Aldo is going on 1.5 hour walks, and doing SUPER well in general! Yay for modern medicine!