November 6 2016 Keepin My Head Above Water

I've always loved the water. I used to tell people I wanted to be a mermaid as my grown-up profession. I've been doing a lot of physical therapy in the pool because I'm so comfortable in water. I used to surf quite a bit when I lived in California and Hawaii. During trials in my life, my dad would use the ocean as a metaphor: "Becki, there are gonna be waves that you can't catch--waves that wipe you out, making you feel like you might drown. What do you do? Does that stop you from getting back on your board and paddling out again? Not a chance. You keep going for the next wave. You've got this. Paddle like you want it."
This has been on my mind this week. Rough waters, high surf advisory, whitewater rapids. You get the idea.Wednesday was the dreaded spine doctor appointment--the day I found out if my neck needed surgery, or if I could start the process of weaning off the neck brace. My stomach was in knots that morning, but I left the doctor's office with good news!
I saw my neck that day for the first time in three months....and it was weird. All baby soft skin and far too skinny to belong to a healthy human. I could tell how weak it was as well. It's hard to realize the real weight of your head unless you've had a cervical collar doing the heavy lifting for three months. I officially know what it's like to be a bobble head.

I'll be keeping it off for a few hours a day for the next month, mainly when I'm sitting idly. And was told to keep it off during pool PT, as the water weightlessness would be good for it. I'm all smiles this week, letting the current keep pushing me forward.

In other news, Halloween came and went this week. One of my three costumes was the apropos Crash Test Dummy. Can't take credit for the idea, but it was smashing (pun definitely intended). I also wore jeans for the first time in three months this week. How was it, you ask? Constricting. I may need to wean off the pjs as well as the neck brace.

Crash Test Dummy for Halloween

Here's my neck brace-free neck. So skinny and weak!

This week's song comes from an older favorite band....

Swim by Jack's Mannequin