So...when did I last post? NOVEMBER?! Eeeeeeeeeeeee. Well...anyways...here I am back from my shameful hiatus to update you all.
1) I ran the Dublin Marathon and finished with success in just under 5 hours. A big thank you to my parents who came and supported me and also a big thanks to all those local Dubliners who came out to cheer for the runners. Nothing makes you feel better, when your running along, to hear "YOU'RE BRILLIANT, WELL DONE!" in an Irish brogue.
2) I performed an Opera Christmas concert in December and the attendees generously donated $300 for the Hydrocephalus Association. Thank you to The Willows in Westborough for their hospitality and to all who attended for supporting my run and my niece. We have now raised $940 dollars total! Thank you everyone who has donated.
3) Nicole is still having ups and downs. In November and December she had two more surgeries. Just before Christmas she had a procedure done which doctors had been eager to do for quite some time. Nicole and the physicians were very hopeful that implanting a catheter into the brain would help the lower and upper ventricles communicate and stabilize her brain fluid pressure. And, up to two weeks after the operation, Nicole was headache-free and doing well. But, soon after that she started having headaches again and was taken to the emergency room. She is now home, but the struggle to find a permanent cure to her symptoms and her condition continues. Still, Nicole remains continually positive and grateful for all the love and support. I am amazed by her unrelenting joyful spirit. AH-MAYZED!
4) Donations to the Hydrocephalus Association via the RunCarlaRun FirstGiving Donations page (click HERE ) will remain open for last-minute donations until January 31st. SO GO DONATE RIGHT NOW!!
6) THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS READ THIS BLOG THUS FAR AND SUPPORTED BOTH ME AND MY FAMILY! We could not appreciate it more!
7) I am going to be running another marathon in April (Prauge I think) but this is not definitive. Additionally, there will be no fundraising as it is just too time consuming to do it properly. HOWEVER I will continue to blog, sporadically, and update you on Nicole and my running. And my cat. (I actually have a cat in the States, Salem is her name, but she was just diagnosed with Melanoma and she is sick and I am very sad but my parents are taking care of her so I should probably thank them PUBLICLY for nursing my poor little 16 year old cat. So, THANK YOU PARENTAL UNITS for loving my cat in my absence. Especially you Calvin Wiegers. Especially you).
So....stay tuned for more blogging fun. I'm doing my best to get it done.
P.S. Did anyone else see Les Miserables in theaters this December and HATE IT? I'm looking at you Anne-MY-NAME-IS-SPELLED-WITH-AN-E-THANK-YOU-VERY-MUCH-Hathaway. Also you too Russell Crowe. I'm dreaming a dream that this movie will go quietly into the night and no one will summon the means to create Les Miserables 2: Even More Miserabler.
PPS: This post contained ONLY 4 cat photos. I think I'm making progress here.
