Day XLXIV

Photo courtesy of the aunt from Washington D.C. The dot near his nose is a boo-boo.

I completely realize it has been a long time since I last wrote. Honestly, life has been slightly out-of-control. I don't think the little family has fully recovered from my week-long disappearance.

And it's not like huge things haven't happened...

MSU lost to U-M in another crushing loss.

Animal Control picked up the cat because we just couldn't get him out of that basement.

Oh, and I did I tell you Jack's walking? Yup! That's right.

The day I got back from my business trip, Husband and I rushed to school straight from the airport to get him. He was going down the slide when we walked across the yard. He immediately saw me and shrieked, pumping both fists in the air. And then, in his excitement he walked to me. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life. I swooped him up and we hugged so tightly, I thought I may crush him. We both even cried a little. Later he realized Daddy was there and he patted him on the shoulder. Then he pulled Husband over and we had a group hug. That's Jack's favorite thing.

These days he's lukewarm on the walking. Sometimes he does it, sometimes not so much.

But if he decides to walk, he claps and cheers himself on.

Priceless.

Day XLXIII

105.1

No, that's not a new radio station.
That's not how much weight I lost after doing the walk (although that would be nice...)
And that certainly isn't the number of people who read this blog.

105.1 is the highest point of Jack's temperature this week. The kid has been sick. Very sick, scary sick. He's been sluggish and quiet and not interested in anything -- not even Sesame Street. It's been a long, painful week for all of us.

Today was his first day back at school. On Monday, Husband got a call from school at the end of the day that his temperature was 104. He raced to go get him and found a kid who was a disaster. (Although, he did dance in the car when Daddy played The Cure. Jackie loves The Cure.)

I immediately got a call into the doctor's office and to Ga to find out what we should do. They said the same thing: lukewarm bath, baby Motrin, fluids. Repeat.

By Tuesday, he seemed better -- at first. Then it went all downhill. We got into the doctor's at 5 p.m. (The only opening there.) He was playing well and in good spirits. I worried that maybe we'd jumped the gun... would the doctor just sigh at us and tell us it's a virus?

Nope. The nurse had to take his temperature in the one way that makes his Dad uncomfortable. And because it was so high, she did it twice. Jack was not happy. He was sobbing, actually. The staff immediately wrapped him in wet wash cloths to try to bring his body temperature down.

diagnosis: Ear infection

Apparently, an infant will get high temperatures (higher than what an adult can survive) because their immune system isn't fully developed. The baby's body heats up to essentially "fry" the bad bacteria. My kid was cooking.

Wednesday he was progressively better.

He does look sad with the little cotton balls in his ears.

Today he's back at school. I am about to call to see how he's doing. Husband is convinced he's fine. As soon as they walked in and saw his favorite teacher, Jack forgot that Husband even existed.

Back to normal.

Day XLXII

Well, it's over.

We did it.

All six of us completed the 60 miles in three days. Amazing, isn't it? Of course, it wasn't without a few injuries.

One of us had diarrhea all day, every day, every pit, every outhouse.

One of us was severely constipated... well, more than one of us was severely constipated.

One of us caught a fungus in the community showers that didn't really bother her until she was back at work Monday.

One of us had one bad knee when we started and two bad knees when we finished.

One of us got severe sunburn -- so bad in fact that my leg was covered in blisters from where my pant line ended and my sock began. So why didn't I put on block you ask? Funny thing, I did. My burn was exactly where I must have missed a strip of my leg. It's was horrifying and everyone I showed for the next few days gasped. Some gagged.

Then there were my pesky arches. Around 1 p.m. Saturday, they decided they'd like to take a rest. They basically collapsed. Turns out it's genetic but neither parent mentioned to me their issues until late that night when I called to tell them what had happened.

Dad: "I have a lot of problems with my feet. That's going to hurt for a while."

Mom: "Well, I had to wear inserts in my shoes when I was a little girl."

Hmmmm... seems like that would have been good preventive information for me to have BEFORE I walked 60 miles!

Organizers told me at 37 miles in that I shouldn't walk anymore. I was devastated. Wasn't there anything I could do? I almost started to cry, I even teared a little. She said she'd tape me up again (it would be my third time that day) but she couldn't guarantee anything. She tried to tell me there was nothing to be ashamed about, walking more than half was a noble effort!
I guess. But when you spent the amount of time I did walking and training for this event, you want some closure. How many Saturdays and Sundays did I spend away from Jack and Husband walkin'?

This last tape job was awful. It killed to walk. My arches were so shot that they were trying to concoct some sort of fake arch with white medical tape. I was detroyed, filled with pain and I was slowing my team down. None of us wanted to miss one step of that 60 miles. I had to take one for the team. I had to sacrifice my own ego so that each one of those girls could complete their goal. I was hobbling and it was bad. In my brain I knew it wasn't worth permanent damage but in my heart I was destroyed. I needed to be iced immediately and I had secretly decided to rip the tape off my feet and walk it off. Literally.

I know now that if I hadn't taken the time to get iced then and to readjust my tape, I would not be walking now, almost a week later. Honestly, if I hadn't had the sunburn and arch issue, I would have walked away from the experience with zero aches and pains. I am so proud of my walking buddy and myself for the amount of training we did.

And even though every night that I called home and heard my Jackie babbling in the background I cried a little, I know the nearly $7 million I helped raise for breast cancer may actually allow me to be around a little longer.

Now I just have to find a physical therapist for Boston in '06 baby!