What's not to love about Notre Dame?

Olive wood crosses from the Holy Land.

Becca Update

So during the race, Becca got on a bike, went up a hill, along a ridge, and then down a hill.  Only the down hill part was more like a slalom with big and little rocks and massive potholes and bumps.  It may have only been 20 feet long but all it took was a split second of losing control and down she went. 

She left the bike and helmet and walked herself back to the starting line.  Nearly there, the organizer of the event saw her and asked if she needed anything.  She said something along the lines of "I need a medic.  I think I need stitches."  So he asked her for who?  Someone on the path?  "No, for me."

And that's when he noticed the blood pouring down her legs.

Shock and adrenaline make people able to do some crazy stuff.

So the first aide team starting pouring water all over her legs.  She was filthy, as a wipe-out on dirt and gravel will make you, and they said stitches were needed.

She walked back up the first hill with Ian and Nicholas in tow to get driven to the hospital.  I'm not sure where the ambulance was, but they made it there anyway in a civil defense truck, to the local Sharhabil Bin Hassneh town hospital where thoughts go more to Gettysburg than to INOVA Fairfax.

[Nicholas had to step out as he told Ian that he was starting to see spots... we all know where that leads.]

There was painkiller, so that's good.  Antibiotics, not so much.  Doctor that looked like a doctor and not like a teenager in a bright plaid shirt?  Well...  Paper and sanitary steps in the exam room, not really available. A door that stayed shut without people wandering in or just popping by to say hi to the doc?  Um... This was a local hospital doing the best they could for all their patients, and for my kid they did a great job.  The gash is stitched well and healing.  I couldn't ask for more.

She was fine the ride home (the ECO Park for the triathlon is 2 hours away from Amman).  We even stopped at McDonalds.  Maybe we were all in shock.

That night around 1 a.m. I got a phone call from my daughter two doors down the hall.  She was in pain.  A lot of pain.  I got and and took a look and it dawned on me then that the lack of antibiotics at the hospital also came with a lack of script for any antibiotics at all.  As much as I wanted to believe that the wound was spotlessly clean I wasn't comforted.

I called the duty nurse.  Should I have called 6 hours earlier and avoided waking her up?  Absolutely.  Sometimes clarity comes at 1 a.m. though.  She felt that the bandaging and all could wait for examination until the next day, but the lack of antibiotics was concerning.

I woke up Ian and asked him to take Becca to the emergency room at Arab Medical.  In less than 2 hours they were back after getting all re-bandaged, with prescriptions for antibiotic meds and cream, a new pain killer in the backside, and a tetanus shot just in case.  Total cost: 39JD (right around $55).

The next day (Monday) Becca was in the health unit cleaning her own wounds and getting her dressings changed once more.

Today (Tuesday), we were back and she did her own cleaning again, and was re-bandaged.

We'll go again Wednesday and Thursday, and by Friday she should be healed enough to let the legs air out, and have minimal dressing to worry about.  She even made it to school today.

Seriously, this kid is a rock star when it comes to handling pain, but more than that I'm impressed by her positive attitude through the whole thing.  She's bummed she didn't finish the triathlon.  She's bummed she can't run the Dead Sea 10K this coming weekend.  But she wants to do them next year and that is awesome.

Almost. She'll kill it next year.

Today was the third annual Triathlon.  Becca did the first one 2 years ago as part of a youth team, skipped last year, and went in again this year in the Novice Tri doing it all on her own.

But this round didn't go quite as planned.  All day yesterday she was nervous about the biking portion of the race.  Today, she was a little bolder than she should have been.

(warning: blood ahead)

Ready... (seriously speedo guys?)

 

Few minutes into the bike portion on a really bad hill.

Pre stitches

8 frankenstein stitches later

Iodined up

Still smiling!

She's said she's going to win it next year.   It's a beautiful place and a great race and a busted knee won't scare her off.

Locks of Love

Paris is also known for its lock bridges.  There are several now, and the locks aren't more than a couple years old.  Due to its popularity from visitors around the world, the locks are regularly removed, and they're trying to figure out how to stop people from doing it entirely as the practice puts the bridges at risk.  Thousands of locks weigh, well, a lot, and this bridge is wooden.

We didn't add a lock of our own. I'm not sure if I'm keeping him yet.

Parisian art is all over the map

http://www.gregosart.com/  #1

http://www.gregosart.com/  #2

Caesar's foot from the Tuilieres garden

Hercules' bottom in the Tuilieres garden

Also from the Tuilieres garden, and it looks like the baby is done for.

St. Michel fountain, around from our hotel.

At the Louvre, he looks SO pleased.

It was only after that I saw the "no photo" sign.

Why would someone commission this?

Or this? "Hi, I'd like a huge sculpture of a dog
chewing on a boar's ear.  Oh, and the boar should
look like it's enjoying it. Hakuna Matata!"

Who's more terrified? The bearded guy or the pet lion?

Oldest piece in the Louvre.  On loan from Jordan.

Who knew there was purple marble?

Oh right.  The Mona Lisa is at the Louvre too.

Great art in the Catacombs too.

My sneaky family

Today is Mother's Day in Jordan, in March not the U.S. May date.  I went biddly-bopping around with my day, not knowing that the munchkins had ordered cupcakes from Sugar Daddy's.  You'll notice that there's enough for everyone to get 2... and then some.  A car pulled up as we were heading out to grocery shop and I grumbled as it stopped Right In Front Of My House for No Reason.  I got around it and drove off.

It was the delivery guy.

Nicholas picked up the delivery.

Message to dad after we left the house.

The home brood is shrinking, even as they get taller.

And then Becca made an English brunch.  With homemade bread.

Parisian Foods

We also ate at a fondue place called Pain, Vin, et Fromage.  And on Wednesday night we ate at Laduree on the Champs Elysees.  No photos from those meals.  The horror.

By far, the best meal we had was at Tournebievre (look it up on TripAdvisor)

Crawfish on a bed of mixed avocado and green apple puree.

Escargots.

Fish, fish, and more fish!

Pastry filled with a nutella-y cream. Ian had profiteroles.

Banana and nutella crepe, streetside.

A wedge of fried brie. Can't remember the name of the restaurant.

Escargots in pastry shells.

Ian's whole fish.

Leg of lapin.

More crepes

Morning coffee break at a Louvre cafe.

Had to have a macaron.  Did not have to have a McMacaron.