Bridge Run and Abdias Update

This weekend, Bill and one of his friends ran the Cooper River Bridge Run. I made it for the first time to see the winners finish. Since neither Bill nor I are ever at the front of the pack, whichever one of us is watching doesn't usually arrive until after the first place finishers have gone by. Well, seeing the beautiful Kenyans and Ethiopians finish gave me a high just from watching! They were so graceful, so FAST and so gourgeous! This year, Kenyans came in first place for the women and men. Last year, Ethiopian women got the 1st and 2nd places for the women. This might have to be a family affair... to go see the beautiful Africans lead the pack in our city. It is awesome and ironic to see Africans as the winners in one of the biggest events in downtown Charleston. HA!

On a down note, watching the run made me want to run sooo badly! I am in month three of trying to recover from a sciatic nerve injury, or as I like to call it non-affectionately, my ASSciatic nerve. Apparently, I injured my ASSciatic nerve through stress on my lower back from picking up my dad in Brazil (from wheel-chair to bed and vice versa). What it means is that I have to take 4 Aleve a day, cannot run, cannot sit on my butt for too long and that the injury causes problems up my spine, up my shoulders and down my leg. I have been seeing miracle worker sports injury massage therapist, Steven Traver, who along with Aleve, gave me 10 pain free days in France. I get to see him Tuesday - thank you, God! All that to say, I really miss running and really hope to run a half-marathon this year ????

On an UP note, my dad turned 67 Friday. I called him and to my utter surprise, he was feeling better, not worse! His voice was loud and clear (last time I called he could barely whisper). He even had people over at the house and was singing! He has a new breathing machine and can actually sleep lying down instead of sitting! I was so HAPPY! He even screamed out the phrase my brother Carlos used to yell at the top of his lungs first thing after waking in the morning when he was a baby: "Eu quero LEITE!" ( I want MILK!!!). That cracks up everyone in the family to this day.

Writing about my dad gives me perspective... my ASSciatic will heal. I am an incredibly healthy person. Today, I am grateful that meu pai, Abdias, feels better :)