I received a telephone call from St. John's College of Nursing last week indicating that I needed to schedule an appointment to meet with an academic adviser and to take the HESI entrance exam. As the school is 3 1/2 hours away from me, I inquired into the possibility of taking the test locally with a proctor and perhaps conducting a telephone conference.

The response was a deliberate NO.

The trip was schedule with my husband's support. He would drive me to Springfield on Monday evening and I would take the exam Tuesday morning. The meeting with the academic adviser would immediately follow the exam's conclusion.

Watching Sunday evening's weather report was a disheartening experience. A cold front enveloped the Springfield area and freezing rain was expected. By Monday morning, the situation was much worse and the town froze beneath a blanket of ice.

What a predicament.

So, I called the school only to discover it had been closed for the day due to inclement weather.

"But, I'm scheduled to take a test in the morning. Will I still be able to do that?"

"I don't know."

"What would you recommend I do?"

"I don't know."

I discussed the situation with my husband and we agreed to make the trek.

The closure we got to Springfield, the nastier the weather. Freezing rain clung to everything. Icicles pulled on tree branches until they gave way. Although it was pretty, I was filled with dread. Had I made this trip for not?

After getting some dinner, my husband and I snuggled down in the hotel room. The rain continued throughout the night.

Early the next morning, I turned on the television and learned St. John's had canceled all classes for the day and the building would be closed until 12:00pm. No longer faced with a rush to arrive by 9 am, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast followed by an adventure around town. By 10:30 am, we parked at the mall. I quick called the school to determine its status. It was still the same.

Shortly before noon, we headed toward the building. There was a sign posted on the door which indicated that classes were canceled and all other inquiries were to ring the bell. So, we rang the bell. The woman who came to the door was unable to provide any information as to what I should do. Obviously, there was no examination that morning and there would be no meeting with the academic adviser that afternoon. No one was available. A second woman came to the door and informed my husband and I that we should have called before coming.

We were faced with a long drive home. And...it was a long, long drive. My husband was irritated with the whole situation and that made for unpleasant company.

The next morning, I telephoned the school to determine a course of action. After explaining what had happened, I was told that I should have listened to the radio or watched the television before driving all that way. --We don't get Springfield stations in Leavenworth.--
Not wanting to argue, simply wanting to schedule the test and meeting, I chose to not inform her that I had called on the previous Monday, watched the television on Tuesday and called on Tuesday. I tried to convince her to allow me to proctor the exam locally. That was again, a definite NO.

--I wonder, what do the folks coming from a more distant location do? Are they expected to travel to the school to take a standardized entrance exam? Apparently so.
I just hope that next week, the weather holds out and that I am accepted to the school. It would be such a bummer if I jumped through all these hoops only to be denied acceptance.

Off crutches

At 5 weeks post-op, I was finally allowed to walk without crutches. PHEW! Thank goodness. Those things are a giant pain in the patooty.

I had my 5 week check-up with the doctor and he explained that week 6 is when the graft is at its weakest. He then told me I'd be in the brace for an additional 3 weeks, weather permitting. If we keep getting snow/rain/ice and conditions remain slippery, then I'm to stay in the brace longer. I can understand that. It doesn't mean I'm happy with the information, but, nonetheless, I'll tolerate it.

So, I have 2 more weeks in the brace and just three days ago, we got about 7 inches of snow. crap. That snow accumulation canceled school and physical therapy for the day. crap.

Don't get me wrong. I really enjoy winter and love winter conditions. What I don't like is being put behind in my recovery and education. Come on, already.

Anyway, two weeks ago in my Health Assessment class, we had to use our stethoscopes and listen to lung sounds. Because I didn't have my stethoscope, I volunteered to be my group's patient. However, when I got home, I volunteered my husband to be my patient. Unfortunately, he wasn't very. Soooooo, I looked around the house and called for my dog.

"Here, Sydney. Come to momma."

She did. Sucker.

Her lungs sounded pretty good and her heart sounded strong.

I quick pulled out my cell phone and sent a text message to my classmate, Christina.
I wrote that my dog had good resonance and good lung sounds.

She wrote back that her dog did too. How funny is that?

So, when I went out to visit my horse, I was so very tempted to take my stethoscope. The only reason why I opted not to was because I knew she would be covered with mud and I didn't want to get my stethoscope dirty.