THE SHOW MUST GO ON......

The shoe show, that is. So those of you who know me and those of you who've followed my blog long enough, know that I'm nothing if not an avid shoe shopper. More of a shoe-aholic, truth be told. I even wrote a blog about it a few months ago.

Well, I'd have to say that one of the major drawbacks of having a bum foot is the fact that I cannot wear most of my favorite shoes because I can't wear heels. I'm just barely walking properly barefooted much less. I still have a slight limp, but I'm getting better and better every day:-)

Anyway, back to the shoe situation....I've not been able to buy any new shoes because I've either not been able to put a shoe on my right foot at all because of swelling or even now that I can wear shoes, I have to wear something flat, ie sandals, flip flops or tennis shoes. So all of my lovely shoes are sitting collecting dust:-(

The fact is, I don't have that many pairs of flat shoes that I can wear "out", if you know what I mean. So today, with not too much coercion from my roommate Erica, we headed down the street to DSW. That place is a danger zone for me!! But what's a girl to do? I NEEDED some flat shoes!!

Of course I ended up buying two pairs of shoes instead of one. One gold pair, one black. They're both sandal-ish and look a lot better in person actually when you can see my outfit/legs and the shoes together. The shoes by themselves look a little odd I think. The gold pair are outside the box for me - a little different
and the black ones
are super comfortable and casual and will get a lot of use. So that's it. My afternoon is complete. And the shoe-drought is over:-)

TO BE OR NOT TO BE.......CELIBATE?

Father Alberto Cutie, (pronounced Koo-ti-ay) known as "Padre Oprah," the nationally known Spanish language television host, advice columnist and bestselling author of the book "Real Life, Real Love," is creating a pretty big stir as he appears to have found real love himself.



A Mexican magazine ran pictures of Father Cutie cuddling with a woman on a Florida beach and kissing her at a bar. In an interview with the Spanish language network Univision, Father Cutie said that despite the scandal the photos have created, he doesn't want to give up either his collar or the woman he loves. He told Univision, he loves the woman and has liked her since he met her. After the photos appeared, the Archdiocese of Miami immediately removed him from his duties as a priest at St. Frances de Sales church in Miami Beach. This past Sunday marked the first time his parish held mass without him.

The scandal is surely reigniting the long-running debate over priest celibacy. Critics, including some priests, argue that celibacy is at the heart of the church's problems, including the shortage of priests and the sex abuse scandals and I for one have to agree. Truth be told, I think the Catholic Church seems to have even bigger issues at the forefront to handle that they've for decades just been sweeping under the rug. However, The Vatican has never wavered on the issue and most active priests agree with its stance.

I am not Catholic so I don't presume to understand the reasoning or logic behind celibacy. After doing some reading, it seems to be that Catholics see it as a true commitment to God, being "the bride of Christ" so to speak. Additionally those who support this stance seem to feel that it makes you wholly available for people and for ministry and for what you really believe, where if you were married with kids, you could not be as available.

Can't the two things co-exist? Can't you be wholly committed to and love God and have romantic love and family in your life? I don't know about you but it just seems unnatural to insist that human beings be required to resist the urge to find love and passion with other people. It's the way the world pro-creates. It's the way we find happiness.

Regardless, the Cutié scandal is sure to ratchet up debate over clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church, a spiritual ideal that seems to collide more often today with biological reality. I'm a die-hard romantic and I'm a Christian, so this is a tough one for me to call. Maybe it's just time for a change......

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Today is one of the most special days in the calendar year because it's the day we celebrate our mothers!! I have been extremely blessed to have had such a wonderful role-model, friend, confidante, supporter, cheerleader and mother in the person of Lois Edwards, whose name I was given as one of my middle names. I couldn't be more happy and proud to have her in my life and my only wish is that we have many, many more years ahead of us to celebrate being mother and daughter.

I took the 1hr 45 min. drive up to Bakersfield tonight driving with my left foot:-( just so that I could surprise her and it was definitely worth it. It's just a short visit because I'll be headed back to LA tomorrow but I really wanted to spend the day with her. So here's to my mom. May God continue to bless you. Your loving daughter....

PAGING ALL TRACK FANS......

If you are a fan of track and field and have some free time on your hands, click on the following link DOHA SUPER GRAND PRIX and watch the meet live from Doha, Qatar right now!!!

Dave, Joice and Nicole will be competing in the men's 110m hurdles, women's 100m and women's high jump respectively. David runs at 10:20am Pacific time and I'm not sure what time Joice and Nicole are on but she they are still yet to compete. Good luck to all my people:-)

ENJOY THE SHOW......

****UPDATE: Dave ended up winning the hurdles, no surprise:-), in a world leading time of 13.09seconds. Joice finished 7th, in 11.43 and Nicole also finished 7th with a jump of 1.88m. All three scored valuable points in the race to the World Athletics Final to be held in September in Greece, later this year. Congrats!

BABY STEPS....

So today is the first day that I am allowed to take my boot off and switch to wearing my normal tennis shoes. It's a non weight bearing boot so I haven't actually "walked" since April 18th. I'm still supposed to use my crutches starting with bearing about 30% of my weight until by next week Wednesday, I'm supposed to be fully weight-bearing. I swear, it seems as if everything is happening so quickly and so slowly all at once.

So quickly because mentally, I'm not sure I'm ready to start walking again. This process usually takes 12 weeks and so far it's been 2 and a half in total to this point for me. I was sooo looking forward to today but now I feel really nervous and unsure and worried that I might tear the entire tendon or something. My foot feels a little stiff but I can tell that a lot of healing has occurred.

So slowly too though because the daily grind of using the crutches and standing on one leg and hopping around everywhere in this three story apartment has been tedious to say the least and precarious at best. I can't tell you the number of times I've tripped on the stairs lol. I went out to the track yesterday and saw everyone running around and getting their bodies ready for competition and all I could do was sit on the side and watch with envy, truth be told. I should have traveled yesterday to Qatar with DO and Joice and I surely will miss not being there with them but I know they will hold it down in my absence:-)

Anyway, I have to trust my doctor. He assured me that today was the day I could put my foot on the ground again and I have to believe in that. I need to believe in that because my little quad and calf are withering away, lol. My ankle still looks a little swollen but back where there was a gap in my tendon, that gap is no longer there.
It kinda looks and feels like a skinny, fat person's leg if that makes any sense lol. I only hope that as quickly as this atrophy has occurred that it will bounce back just as fast to having some semblance of muscle tone cause it's kinda mushy right now....ugghh:-(

I'm sure I'll be fine, I think I needed to just get it out, to say it. I guess that's what this blog can do sometimes - give you a voice you know what I mean? To get stuff off your chest. So that's it. I'll keep saying my prayers and before you know it, I'll be hopping and skipping around again....ok let me not get carried away...but in one short week, I should be able to chuck these metal appendages (my crutches) aside and be one step closer to being whole again! Woohoo!

WEIGHT DEBATE

United To Charge Heavier Passengers Twice To Fly

Airline Says Overweight Travelers Will Need To Buy Extra Seats Or Be Denied Entry To Planes

CHICAGO (CBS) -

If “beefy” or “curvy” describes you, here is a word of warning: United Airlines will begin aggressively enforcing a new policy that allows it to charge heavier passengers twice to fly.

United will now implement new policies for passengers they deem to be overweight.

Under the rules outlined by United, passengers who “are unable to fit into a single seat in the ticketed cabin; are unable to properly buckle the seatbelt using a single seatbelt extender; and/or are unable to put the seat’s armrests down when seated” will be denied boarding unless they purchase an extra seat.

If no empty seat exists, the passenger will be forced to take a later flight.

“The seat purchase or upgrade must be completed for each leg of the itinerary,” the United policy states. ”If a customer meeting any of the above-listed criteria decides not to upgrade or purchase a ticket for an additional seat, he or she will not be permitted to board the flight.”

How do you feel about this??

The other day when I was traveling, I had to sit next to a guy that was let's just say, he was on the "heavy" side. Not simply overweight. He was at least 300lbs and for the entire flight, he had to try to clasp his hands together over his stomach so that they wouldn't come over the armrest into my seating area. As much as I felt for myself, I felt badly for this gentleman in his predicament because his fingers were turning pink because he could barely hold onto his other hand:(

Now while I totally understand the reasoning behind United's policy, I guess the whole question of discrimination comes into play and exactly just what is fair. Yes, I guess if you go strictly according to the rules, if you're "spilling over" into someone else's seat and for all intents and purposes, taking up two seats, then I guess perhaps you should be charged for two seats. Not to mention, making the other passenger uncomfortable. On the other hand, it seems a little calloused and heartless but I guess in this economy and in the world of business, heart and compassion have nothing to do with anything!

All I can say is, personally I hope they put in place a similar program for smelly people too because that negatively impacts fellow fliers as well. Just imagine the pre-flight check!

ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY....

So for the past 4 days, I’ve been in Toronto, Canada getting treatment/therapy for my Achilles. It’s been some pretty intense days with everything from ultra sounds to various injections to hyperbaric chamber therapy.

About a week ago, while I was doing my research about the various treatment options, I decided to come to Canada to seek the help of one of THE best Sports doctors around. He has treated many, many superstar athletes, many whose names you’d very easily recognize. The normal protocol for a partially torn Achilles such as mine is 4-6wks in a non-weight bearing cast with crutches, followed by another 4-6wks in a weight-bearing boot, followed by the beginning of physical therapy. A very circuitous, tedious road at best and then the results are not the best as far as the strength of the tendon anyway.

Dr. Galea is world-renowned and he employs a completely different approach that yields far better results in far less time. As it turns out, he lived up to all the hype and then some. He’s a very charming, laid-back, cool, unorthodox guy and it was my distinct pleasure to meet him. He took great care of me and I will forever be in his debt and if all goes well, I should be walking without casts, boots or crutches in two weeks time and beginning my PT.

Now back to this hyperbaric chamber therapy. I have one word for it – NIGHTMARE!!!!!! I don’t know if any of you are claustrophobic but I am. Without going into the details of why this type of therapy is extremely beneficial, let’s just cut to the chase – you have to stay in this glass tube, fully enclosed, lying on your back for an hour and a half!!! Suffice to say, I STRUGGLED, Lord have mercy and I had to do it 3 days in a row!!! The second time I did it, I had a bit of a panic attack and almost freaked out.


Me in the "torture" chamber, lol! Yeah, that's a fake smile....when they were just about to pull me out!!!

I can laugh about it now, but trust me, it was no laughing matter at the time. And then just to add insult to injury, for two 5minute intervals while you’re in there, you have to put this oxygen mask over your nose and mouth. I can assure you that unless there’s life or death involved, Jackie Edwards will never put herself through that again, lol. My dear friend Joice, told me to "quit being a drama queen", but I’m sorry Ms. Joice, just based on your description alone, the chamber you go in does not compare neither in size nor in experience – there are no books or laptops or anything at all allowed in with me – not even my earrings!!! And even if it is, oh well, I won't deny the fact that I was really afraid/nervous/scared....

Anyway, I did have one free evening and my roommate Erica’s parents, whose home I stayed at, took me to Niagara Falls. It was a great break away from the rigors of the therapy.


Me and Erica's mom at The Falls

I do want to say that the Witter family has gone above and beyond in showing me kindness and hospitality and I will forever be grateful.

I’m on my way back to LA tomorrow. Treatment is done. The healing process officially begins and I for one couldn’t be happier.