I won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Jay & Jennifer! Blogging For Books is a fantastic idea (next one starts November 1, mark your calendars).

Of course, this sort of encouragement is dangerous, as it will surely lead to more & more writing, which in turn will lead to late night rambling, massive consumption of snack foods, and computer-related eye strain. I am looking forward to it!

In answer to some of the comments & email I received, I am much better now. I live with some disabilities, but these days they are mostly in the "annoying" category instead of the "how can she live like that" category. I also have a doctor I trust, who respects my experience and my goals. In an ironic twist, about a week after the incident in the story, my insurance company pulled the financial plug on my inpatient stay, having determined without meeting or evaluating me, that I had no health problem. Um... yeah. If people had told me at the time that this experience would be something to look back on & learn from, I would have drawn an anatomically detailed diagram showing them where to stick it. Since I love where I am now, I suppose I can't fault the road that brought me here.