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| Merry Christmas! |
Happy 2016, everyone! I hope you all had a relaxing, safe, and happy holiday season with your friends, family, and other loved ones. I sure am happy to be back in the States, spending time at home healing up and getting lots of TLC from those around me (and eating all my favorite home-cooked meals from mom)!
It's been nearly a month since the last chapter of my "Hospital Hiatus", and I want to keep everyone updated on how things are progressing with my foot.
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| The best dog in the whole wide world |
Short story: My foot is healing faster than Wolverine's mutant powers are capable of (except not at all).
Long story: It's actually been a slow and tedious process, but my doctors Stateside are telling me that it's looking FANTASTIC. Hooray~!!! My mom or I typically do the daily cleaning and dressing, and I get it checked at the wound care clinic once a week. My doctors in the States as well as my doctor in Korea think that the hole should be fully healed up sometime in February (one month to go)! Besides that, I am just about fully functional - I'm walking semi-normally, can participate in moderate exercise, and am on my feet for long periods of time without pain. I just have to wear shoes with no backs on them for awhile, and I won't be back to running until the spring time most likely. The hole has gotten much smaller and my pain scale rarely reaches higher than a 2 (out of 10). So, I'm feeling pretty good.
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| Foot update |
Being home has been so relaxing and rejuvenating for me. I've been surrounded by friends and family that I haven't seen for awhile, so getting to physically see them and show them that I'm alive and well was relieving for me. Most of what everyone back in the States has seen or heard about my condition is what I've been posting on social media and my blog, so I'm glad to verify my current state with them in person. Being able to pick up and giggle, chat, and be weird in front of each other like no time has passed at all has meant so much to me. I am thankful to have such loving, gracious, and extraordinary people in my life. Love you all!
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| Mom's homemade donuts! |
On top of being filled with love from family and friends back home, I received an unexpected Christmas gift from my Fulbright family in Korea. On Christmas Eve, I was informed that many alumni and current Fulbrighters worked together to raise funds to help cover the cost of my medical bills. I was totally taken aback and overcome with gratitude and tears and other emotions I don't like to admit, but I feel so much love for all of my Fulbright family. I cannot thank them enough for their thoughtfulness and generosity, and I hope that I can repay each one of my donators individually at some point in the future. It was truly a heartfelt Christmas gift, and thanks to all of those who stayed by my side, I will always think fondly on this experience, no matter how trying it was. Love you all to the moon and back!
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| Christmas Dinner |
I have about three more weeks left at home before I head back to Korea to prepare for the spring semester. Although classes don't start again until March, I am participating in an American-Korean student exchange for a week in Seoul, where other ETAs and I will each bring five students and they will get to interact and hang out with American students during the last week of January. I'm excited to reunite with my students and gain some lost time, rebuild those teacher-student bonds. Throughout February, I'll be preparing units and lessons for the upcoming semester, and likely going into school many days as another way to make up for lost time. Of course I'll also enjoy my last month of winter break by reuniting with my Korean friends and other friends I've made throughout my grant. But no hiking... womp womp. Haha!
This post doesn't have much else to it - just a bunch of sap and gushy feelings that are abnormal for me. But I guess that's what the holidays and being home does to me - and I'm not opposed to it, either. <3
