The Day of the Doc

Alright, I mentioned previously that I went to New York to see the doctor, and that finally happened on day 4. Dr. Yazici is the only Behcet's specialist in the world, as far as I know and his office is in the Bronx. We took a cab to his office and ended up getting there over an hour early, but it wasn't worth risking being late to an appointment that we flew all the way across the country for! Sitting in his office made me pretty nervous, but also ended up making me feel a little less alone. I have only actually met one other person with Behcet's and that was before I had even been officially diagnosed. People are great and sympathetic and understanding, and for that I'm very, very thankful, but they can't understand as well as someone who also has the disease. I didn't even talk to any of the other patients in the office, but just knowing that there were other people out there going through the same things I am was really comforting. There was a girl in the waiting room who looked to be about my age and who was having a rough day. She was being short with her mom and was in tears off and on. I just wanted to go up and hug her! I'm not sure if that would have scared her or made her feel better. (There I go trying to fix other people again...)

The visit with the Doc was brief and very fast-paced. It was really intense, but now that I've had time to process, really great. First off, he confirmed my diagnoses of Behcet's. A relief for sure! He then proceeded to tell me that my local Rheumatologist had me on 1/3 the dose of the immumosuppressant that I should be taking and that they should have tried 2 other, less intense meds first. Interesting. After that, things were kind of a blur. I was frustrated at my past care and relieved that there was something else that could be done about the pain. He now has me on a new immunosuppressant and it's been a month, so I'm actually discontinuing 2 of my old meds tomorrow. Wish me luck! I've been feeling pretty lousy the last couple of weeks, but I think I'm just having one of my periodical flare-ups. I think the new med is actually helping! Woo!

After the Doc, I was in my usual post-doctor daze/depressive state, but there wasn't much time to sulk, we had a statue to see! The Doc's office was decently close to the Statue of Liberty, so like the tourists we were, we headed over. The Statue of Liberty is definitely something I recommend seeing, but you should know that it's nowhere near as tall as they make it seem. The base is about the same height as the statue. Just an fyi. We were waiting in line to go up on the pedestle and to climb part of her but decided that we were too tired and the lines were way too long. That was a good choice! We walked around the island for a bit and took lots of pictures before heading to Ellis Island.

Ellis Island was also really cool. So much history. It's incredible to me that so many people passed through those doors and corridors hoping for a better life. Amazing. In the early 1900s. over 11,000 people passed through Ellis Island. That is the record. I can't imagine how anywhere near that number of people fit on the island, let alone in the main building! We did a little searching for our ancestors on the computers, but it turns out that they came to the states before the days of Ellis Island. It was worth a shot.


That night, we headed back toward our hotel and ate at a pizza place that was recommended to me by a friend. The pizza was definitely tasty and helped ease our sheer exhaustion and hunger. On a whim, we decided that it was worth a try to get tickets to see Jersey Boys, although we were pretty sure it wasn't gonna happen since the show had been sold out for months and months until that day. We hauled our tired bodies and aching feet as fast as we could toward hustled the theater. We got there about 20 minutes before the show was supposed to start. The guy at the box office said that he didn't have any student tickets left but that we could buy tickets for $120 each or something. Way too much after all the money we'd already spent, trust me! After a minute, he said that he had 2 tickets: $56. I tried to hand him my debit card, but he said cash only. Defeat....or not? Between the 2 of us, we had exactly $60! Done and done! So we did it! We got tickets and cheap ones to boot!

Jersey boys was just as cool as the other shows had been. They were all so different that they can hardly even be compared. The guy who played Frankie Valli had an awesome voice and I have no idea how he pulled it off! Amazing! Since the play is about The Four Seasons, and their lives off stage, there was a lot of swearing. I can say that I've heard worse, but it was a bit awkward to be sitting between a 70 year old couple and a family with young kids and watching their reactions to the swearing. Mom really seemed to enjoy that one and I'm so glad that we decided to give it a try instead of going back to the hotel to lay down, which sounded like a great idea! I bought a CD after the show and, much to Jared's disappointment, it's all I listened to for many days.


After we took one last trip through Time Square at night and had one last vendor soft pretzel, we headed to bed. As a side note, apparently each and every business on Time Square has to have a lighted sign, which leads to what you see below...


We took one last quick lap around Time Square the following morning then it was off to the airport and back to reality. Overall, it was a great trip! Very fun and just as memorable! Can't wait to do it again, mom. Where are we headed next?

Day 2 in NYC

There isn't a lot to tell about day 2 that anybody would find very interesting. It was one of our lazy days. We slept in, did a little shopping on Time Square, then set out to find tickets to Broadway shows. We ended up getting a schedule for all of the shows that week, so then we had to do some picking and choosing. I really wanted to see Chicago and the Phantom of the Opera, and mom really wanted to see Jersey boys, but it was sold out until Tuesday night (Day 4.) The guy who hands out info about the shows told us that student tickets are really cheap, but they are sometimes hard to come by and can only be purchased at the theater box office. Also, 1 student ID gets 2 tickets at student price. Right on! Guess that warm water exercise class at the community college paid off in a number of ways! (Always take your student ID when traveling, people. Always!) All of a sudden, it was an option to go to more than one show. We decided to see Chicago that night and Phantom the next night.

Okay, so here is where it all gets really awesome! We got 2 tickets to see Chicago on Broadway for about $55! Oh yeah, and they were front row seats! Damn! Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child was playing the role of Roxy at the time, and at the end, she sang right to me and tossed me a fake rose from her bouquet! So freaking cool! The orchestra was sitting right in the middle of the stage and they hardly used any props. Very unique. Also, holy cow there are some thin, tallented, and good looking individuals rockin' Broadway! After the show, I couldn't wait to see the Phantom!

Even though it's fuzzy and weird, I love this picture because it looks like my mommy loves me!

OTR

6th Grader Gaga

Check out this great MSN Video: Sixth-Grader Performs Lady Gaga's 'Paparazzi'

Happy Day, Mom!

You Were There...

You were there when we took our first steps,
And went unsteadily across the floor.
You pushed and prodded: encouraged and guided,
Until our steps took us out the door...
You worry now "Are they okay?"
Is there more you could have done?
As we walk the paths of our unknown
You wonder"Where have my children gone?"
Where we are is where you have led us,
With your special love you showed us a way,
To believe in ourselves and the decisions we make.
Taking on the challenge of life day-to-day.
And where we go you can be sure,
In spirit you shall never be alone.
For where you are is what matters most to us,
Because to us that will always be home...

Author Unknown

NYC Day 3

On day 3, we realized we were running out of time, so we decided to start being tourists and seeing sights. But first, we had to eat. We made it a habit to sleep in, so naturally, we missed breakfast at the hotel every day except one! What to do? Well, we wandered into Time Square and found us a Bubba Gump's. Sounds a little iffy, but I'd heard it was pretty tasty, and I was not misinformed. I ate a huge meal of 4 different kinds of shrimp. It must have had close to a million calories, but who is counting? And of course, we had a garlic bread appetizer and peach margaritas at 11 am as a warm up! Yummy! Our waiter had a bunch of Forrest Gump trivia questions that he asked us (poor guy) and let me say that we kicked complete ass! We answered all of the questions correctly!

After stuffing ourselves and briefly visiting the gift shop at the restaurant, it sounded like a good idea to walk to Central Park from the hotel. After all, it was only 20 blocks or so... Silly us! It was a nice stroll and all, but we seemed to somehow forget that neither of us is well equipped for lots of walking, or even any walking if the timing is wrong! We did make it, though, and spent the afternoon strolling through the South end of the park. There were some really awful musicians playing drums and saxophone. I mean, really awful. It was certainly fun though. I understand why people flock there. First off, it's beautiful, and secondly, it's the only place that's green in the whole city. Certainly appealing through my eyes.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we went to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway that evening! I can't even begin to explain to you how amazing it was! I cried several times. It was so beautiful! At the end, the cast was collecting money for people with AIDS and their families. I donated $20 and got an awesome Phantom of the Opera reusable shopping bag as a thank you! Sweet! Now I can save the environment and be awesome at the same time!

Sorry mom, none of the pics of you turned out. Lame!

Day 1 in NYC!

In case you're wondering, no, my mother and I did not simply fly to New York to spend money and see Broadway shows (though we did a lot of those things). The entire purpose of the trip was to finally go see the Behcet's specialist that I've mentioned off and on for probably the last 2 years. No more talk people, we finally made it happen! Who knew we had it in us? Anyway, we decided to make it a fun trip, too. Doctors appointments tend to be a major downer for me, so the fun was certainly a good idea as well as good medicine.

We stayed at this awesome new hotel about a block from Time Square and our room was on the 30th floor! No, not the 3rd floor, the 30th floor. Growing up in Montana hardly prepared me for the hustle, bustle, and really tall hotels that cities apparently have to offer. The bellhop definitely chuckled when we told him we thought our room must be on the 3rd floor! The room was a bit small, but had a huge tv and a partial view of the Empire State Building. Oh yeah, and in NY, people on bicycles will deliver Chinese food right to your hotel room until like midnight! Score!

The view from our hotel room

We slept in the first day we were in the city in preparation for an action-packed afternoon of shopping. If you're not already aware of this, Macy's is a magical place where one can find nearly everything he or she would ever need or could even dream of needing! I found 2 coats, 2 pair of shoes, and a purse all in the same store! I should mention that, since I am over 5'4", some of these items are very difficult to find in the great state of New Mexico. I'm still excited about it! We ate at the best Indian restaurant in NYC that night and then went to the Top of the Rock, which is, of course, the Rockefeller Center and checked out the city lights. So beautiful! It was really windy up there, but luckily, the building was not swaying. That probably would have freaked me out!

It's hard to see, but that's the Empire State Building behind our windswept selves.

Awesome view! The ball that drops at midnight on New Year's is sitting on that brightly colored building in the bottom right portion of the photo.