Still Wet!

It sure has been wet here. I’m sure you have been hearing in the news how the Washington DC area has been getting dumped on for several days now. I understand that we have gotten over nine inches of rain since Sunday. But the end is in sight… they are saying that the rain should end Wednesday for the most part. The rain really has been wreaking havoc everywhere and affecting many of those around us. We woke up Monday morning with no Internet, but the TV worked. We normally don’t watch TV and we figured all was well in commuting land. Holly headed down to the metro at about 0830 and I was getting ready to metro over to NRH for my 1000 follow-up appointment with Dr. Milani. Just minutes after Holly left, she walked back in and told me that she went in to the metro station and that the platform was packed with people and the next trains were well over 10 minutes away – and most likely packed. She decided she should drive to work and came up to warn me. I was planning to metro but one of the stations on my route was closed due to water over the tracks in a tunnel, and delays were over an hour since passengers had to exit, take a shuttle bus around the closed station and go back down to a train. I needed to make my appointment, so I called our always reliable friend, Kezia. She made it over as soon as she could and we set out. We left around 0915 but immediately hit traffic crossing the bridge across the Potomac River. Holly acted as our eyes and scouted out the traffic jams for us at a very cool free traffic website called TrafficLand.com. She was able to tell us what roads were running smoothly and where stalled cars were in the roadway. It was awesome and she got us around the bottlenecks. But the delays took their toll and we didn’t get to NRH until about 1050. Luckily, they were able to get me in quickly. Dr. Milani was happy with my progress and prescribed another four weeks of PT, but only two days per week instead of three. She also advised me to rest again this week, which I wasn’t planning to do. I had a chance to see Kate and Missy and many other folks there again; it was great to see everyone. And I know it definitely helps them know that they are making a difference. The day was a complete mess for most of the region. I heard many stories of people getting to work three hours late, several government building were closed due to flooding, and many people suffered water damage in their homes and cars.

Monday was so long, I can’t believe it’s only Tuesday! I had PT this morning and learned that Laura’s (one of my PTs) basement was flooding slightly. They had carpet down there and it was a big mess that they are continuing to clean up. Then today at lunch with a few friends, I learned that our friend, Jennifer, had a horrible mishap with her car Sunday night. She was driving home and followed traffic through a water covered road. Her car stalled, started but stalled again and would not start. As she was trying to figure out what to do next, she realized that the water was rising quickly. She called a friend but it was too late, her car was starting to float a little. She opened the door and water gushed in, filling the car. She waded to safety and her car was eventually washed into a pole on the other side of the street. Unfortunately, her apartment was flooded a few weeks ago by a bad pipe – so this was a double whammy for her. Please keep her in your prayers, if you could.

I tried to make an appointment to see a neurologist today but they told me that they have no openings for new patients until August. That really stinks for me since I am not really a new patient. My neurologist is leaving the military and I get screwed. I made a quick phone call to Dr. Duelge at NNMC and he is going to see if they can get me in quicker somehow for continued care – as I am not a new patient. I’ll let you know how that goes. I have not posted the pictures from this past weekend yet. Tomorrow is my first day in a while where I don’t have to be at some doctor appt, treatment or therapy – so I am sleeping in.