Tag Archives: Hip Replacement

Fractured, Not Broken!

Fractured Definition: having a crack or breakhaving suffered a fracture

Broken Definition: (of a person) having given up all hope; despairing 

Resilient Definition: (of a person) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions

On Wednesday, May 17th, I accidentally fell forward while attending the Opioid, Stimulants, and Trauma Summit sponsored by the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services at the Kalahari Resort and Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells and fractured the humerus of my right, dominant arm. Ouch! Continue reading

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It Takes a Village: Lessons Learned

“We are all in this together.” ― Hillary Rodham Clinton, It Takes a Village

 “Accepting help is its own kind of strength.” ―  Kiera Cass

February will be the 10th Anniversary of my blog, Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! When I began designing it, I first needed to determine why I write. I saw it first as an extension of my journals, except I would invite others to read what I wrote. From the About section of the blog, Why I Write:

First, I consider myself a journalist, not the fact-checking, who, what, where, and when kind of reporter – but the gut-checking – why did this, or why is this happening to me or others and what can I learn from the experience – activist-essayist and memoirist. I keep journals, write memoirs and personal narratives as a record of my journey and exploration inward, allowing me to excavate and externalize aspects of my essence and experience, bringing them out of the shadows and into the light. Journaling and writing personal narratives is the process of first becoming aware, accepting and embracing what I have uncovered, followed by the charting of a new course. Continue reading

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Letter to Loved Ones (Just in Case)

“My life has not always been easy, but it’s always been worth the effort. I’ve not always possessed what I’ve wanted, but I always received what I needed, and most days it was simply the love of friends and family, and the ability to live comfortably in my own skin.” — from Dispatch from the Hideout: Letter to Loved Ones

For those who know me personally and/or read my blog or social media posts, I’m open and share freely about my personal life, some say I overshare. I write about my lived experience, often the mundane moments of everyday life, and sometimes I wax philosophically or poetically about our shared universal human experience. In essence, I’m an open book, and you choose whether to pick it up and read, or not! Continue reading

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Dispatch from the Hideout: Hip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah!

“Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!”

[Song composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert for the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie Song of the South, sung by James Baskett.]

First, I took some liberty with the happy song from my childhood for the title of this installment of the Dispatch from the Hideout series, to express optimism about the relief and restoration I hope to experience from my upcoming hip-replacement surgery.

A note about the movie that featured the song: It was considered by the NAACP as racist and released this statement, “…in an effort neither to offend audiences in the North or South, the production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery … [the film] unfortunately gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship, which is a distortion of the facts.”  To read more about the film and the controversy it caused, Song of the South: 12 Things to Know About Disney’s Most Controversial Movie.

Continue reading

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