Use the Force, Luke.

It looks a bit like a lightsaber, don't you think? Though I would never condone the practice of engaging in high-risk behavior on the outside chance of incurring serious bodily harm, you have to admit: glow-in-the-dark casts are cool! Every night, as I settle in under the covers, I can't help but giggle when I see the eerie green glow emanating from my arm.

I went to the doctor a week ago Monday. Dr. #1 x-rayed my arm to see if the bone had stayed put. It had, so he put a new cast on. By bedtime, my fingers were slightly numb and discolored: the cast was too tight. I put up with it until the following morning, when I went back in to have the problem fixed. The medical assistant split the cast down the back, hoping that he could spread it enough to relieve the tightness, but he couldn't. So I got yet another cast (which is still a little on the tight side, but bearable). While Dr. #2 (#1's partner) was putting the new cast on, he took a look at the x-ray from the previous day and decided the bone wasn't as straight as he'd like. He said, and I quote: "You aren't going to like this." That, my friends, was the understatement of the century. He then proceeded to squeeze the still-soft cast--and my wrist--very hard, straightening it ever so slightly. (His finger and thumb prints are preserved forever in my cast. Really.) I responded by gritting my teeth and trying hard not to scream, or kick the doctor in the shin. You'll be happy to hear I was successful on both counts.

I went back yesterday to have another follow-up x-ray. The doctor said he was "tickled" with how well my bone is healing. I'll be released from my fiberglass Iron Maiden--it really is torture to wear this thing!--in two weeks.

In spite of the discomfort and inconvenience of having a broken wrist, I've managed to keep up my school work. I've learned to write with my left hand, though it's not very legible. I take notes on my laptop, but do math by hand. My numbers have gotten better with practice, but are still pretty scary. I feel sorry for the grader! Art class has been the biggest challenge. Cameron was a huge help on my cut paper project.

I'm taking a break from studying for my midterm exam in Literary Interpretation--the only class for which I have to take a midterm. :o) Part of it is an essay, and some short written answers, but my professor was kind enough to make arrangements with the testing center for me to use a computer for those portions of the exam.

The editing project I've been working on for the last several months (see Nov. 15, 2009 post) has undergone some exciting changes. I finished my original assignment: verifying the sources used and formatting the end notes for the paper. The professor I work for decided to give me a more hands-on role. In exchange for doing some summarizing and rewording, I am now officially co-author of the paper! I even signed a contract that gives publication rights to the Wooden O, the education arm affiliated with the Utah Shakespeare festival. The English department chair is thrilled. The university loves professor/student collaboration projects. This is an amazing opportunity for an undergrad. I can't begin to describe the gratitude I feel. I'm now working on extracting text from this same professor's doctoral thesis for a lecture he's delivering in three weeks at a conference at Oxford University in England.

Hayden got his cast off on Thursday. He waited four days before going skiing. I'm pleased to report that he and Parker both came home in one piece. Parker went to the Sweetheart Dance at the high school on Saturday and had a good time. Tyler survived three weeks without his girls. Brandi and Chloe are back home after spending a week in sunny Arizona, followed by two weeks snowbound in the Washington D.C. area. They were there for the humongous snow storms, so they didn't get to see much. They had to come back to Rexburg for decent weather. :o) If Saturday is anything like today, I will be sorely tempted to duct tape a ski pole to my cast and hit the slopes!