"Settle down, it'll all be clear. Don't pay no mind to the demons..."

They fill you with fear.

As many of you know from talking to me, so much has happened recently.  Even as a list, it looks ridiculous, and a list could not possibly capture everything.  Nevertheless, since graduating from law school in early May, I have done the following:

1. Moved from my apartment in Savoy to a friend's apartment
2. Studied for the bar
3. Taken the bar
4. Moved from my friend's apartment to my parents' house
5. Toured NYC with my mom
6. Gone on Birthright (10 days in Israel)
7. Attended a law school friend's wedding in San Francisco
8. Did a public interest law fellowship, working with low-income clients.
9. Had surgery
10. Searched and ultimately found an apartment in Chicago
11. Shopped for things to fill #10
12. Continued to recover (this means: physical therapy twice a week, biking two hours a day, stretches, and follow-up visits to the surgeon and a rheumatologist)

The stuff above is both exciting and exhausting. It also means that pretty much everything has been a blur.  This surgery has given me a lot of time to slow down and relax a little while catching up with friends and family.  For that, I'm incredibly grateful.  I truly don't know when I'll ever have time like this again after I start my job.  Don't get me wrong...I am very excited to start my job.  Nevertheless, I'm trying to make the most of these last few weeks, including my upcoming vacation to Riviera Maya.  I can't wait to sit on a beach and just relax with VS.  Should be pretty great.

Still, I remain concerned, as the title of this post suggests, about my post-op condition.  It's really hard to say whether I am getting better or staying the same or, G-d forbid, feeling worse.  At this point, I'm walking without a crutch and/or a brace, but it is somewhat painful.  I can't tell whether any of this is normal or, if not, what it means.  I've seen a rheumatologist about the inflammation they found in my tissue during surgery, and, despite all of the blood work and a chest x-ray, they still don't know what's going on with me.  For the moment, the diagnosis is inflammatory arthritis, which means nothing.  It just says that I have inflammation in my blood without any other explanation--no lupus or osteo/rheumatoid arthritis.  The doctor said that this is a good thing in the long run, but it also means that the treatment could be hit or miss since it's not a textbook case of anything.  Oh goodie.  Still, I'm trying to stay positive.  I'm doing everything I can to make sure that this surgery is successful.  I just hope it's enough...

As I said, I'm tired.

Besito,
A