There's No Place Like Home!

This is what it looked like in TN after the rain stopped! We got up super early this morning. We were packed and had some stuff in the car already before we ate breakfast at 6am (5am TN time)at the hotel. We were off by 6:40am (5:40 TN time). We woke up to a little snow on the windshield...if we had stopped an hour farther north we would have awakened to 3-4 inches of wet slushy snow! We did have rain a lot of the way home, but the weather could have been soooooo much worse! We were home by 11:50am TN time. It was good to be back safe and sound! I slept a good part of the way home and have slept away a good part of the afternoon. I guess I was tired...or perhaps adrenalin stopped flowing!!! I think that my body was a predictor (due to my Transverse Myelitis) of the snows in the northern states before they hit as I have ached a good part of the trip--so guess it was good to get back to my recliner and fleece throw! Woody went to the grocery store after we got home. I fell asleep shortly after he left and I couldn't rouse myself enough to help him put away the groceries. I had only been stirring a short time before it was time to blog...I did do a "little" unpacking before heading to the computer to download photos. I didn't take many photos this time...played with my iPad instead! I managed to read two books on this trip...and that wasn't in the car as I can't read in the car...well, I did read the last few pages of a book on the iPad in the car this morning and miracles of miracles...I didn't feel car sick after reading! But I wouldn't trust my luck for very many pages! I got curious this afternoon as to how many trips we had made to NIH and also as to when we started going to NIH (at a point things just blur together!)...someone asked us on the shuttle ride from the hotel to NIH how long he had been going and I had to be vague with them. I couldn't remember if it was two or three years. We started going three years ago this coming April 27th (so in 2010). From April to Dec. 2010 we made 8 trips to and from NIH (in those 2010 trips Woody had two surgeries and one three-week hospital stay). In 2011 we made 5 trips to check in with Woody's research team and for scans, etc.(all 4 or 5 days away from home). And, in 2012 We made 3 trips. And, now in 2013 1 trip (so far) and will only have one more this year (that sounds so good)! So since starting our partnership with NIH we have made 17 trips back and forth to Maryland. And, only two of those were made in a plane. When we started with them the "deal" was that they would provide all the care and some compensation for trips/hotels and that we would provide them our time (seeing them at intervals set up by the research team). I will conclude by saying that I think that both sides have kept up with their part of the "deal!" I'm very thankful that we have just concluded our 17th trip rather than it being our 1st!!!!!