After writing a post last week to tell you about the great progress I have made, about going from walker to cane to walking like a normal person, I suffered a sudden setback. Out of nowhere, I developed a very large hematoma on the back of my operated leg. That’s a humongous bruise that is black-blue and very ugly. Suddenly, I couldn’t walk. The pain was intense. The physical therapist said I probably tore my hamstring. What do I know about these things? Nothing. It has been a few days, and I have graduated back to the cane. The hematoma is turning other colors. I think I’m getting better. I feel that so many of you are good friends that I wanted you to know.

Watch closely. Those can sometimes produce blood clots if you use blood thinners. Just take it slowly. Color changes are a sign of healing.
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You’ve either been running or you used that leg to kick a reformer in the arse. Rest up..
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RRatto, that explains it.
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Next time you need an arse kicked, just post a shout-out. I’m sure there are many here happy to help you out. 😉
Anyway, sorry about the set-back. Rest up.
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Rooting for you Diane! Feel better soon.
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Sorry to hear about your setback, but I am glad you are doing better.
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Best wishes for a speedy recovery Diane!
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Thanks for the update. We need you to be strong! I feel so much better knowing you’re leading the fight!
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So sad to hear that. I empathize as I have always been very active and am now dealing with an uncooperative leg. Age! My thoughts are with you.
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Always thinking of you!
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Take it easy. No rush.
Sent from my iPhone
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Recovery and backsliding can be nasty business. Take care Diane, and will be thinking of you. I know that one way to work out without the angst of joint pressure is in the pool. Wonder if that would benefit you (speaking as one who is trying to get healthy via swimming).
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Diane reported previously that she has been doing hydrotherapy.
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Thanks Chi-Town Res. It’s hard to keep up with this prolific blogger!
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You could be right, Hannah. Working in water worked for me, as a safe (and pain free!) way to restore muscles and heal tendons. Less stress, so less inflammation. My physical therapist gave me floats on bars to put under my arms, and I could just hang out in the deep end doing water ballet when it was really bad. Now I can put on water shoes and do aerobics, as well as swim.
Diane, all the best to you. Thanks for letting us know.
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Thanks, Hannah, I spend an hour a day in a pool
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My prayers continue to be with you Diane Ravtich. God bless you abundantly, and thank you for all you continue to do for education. Thank you for believing in us – those of us representing the public’s ability to love and educate our most precious treasure – children. It takes a village to raise a child – not a corporation. I love like a parent; I don’t drool like a CEO.
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I love that thought, Gerri Songer
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Being an RN and Special Ed. Teacher just remember to take care of you first. Remember what they say in air plane safety…put the oxygen on yourself first…you are essential to the fight for public education but please take the time to heal. Best wishes for a complete recovery.
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Thank you for the update, Diane. Yes, you have many good friends here and we care very deeply about your health. Don’t rush your recovery. Try to take care and enjoy your respite and the summer. Best wishes always–
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Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery.
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My thoughts and prayers are with you
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We all have setbacks sometimes. Hang in there. We are all rooting for you in more ways than one. Thanks for updating us. Prayers headed your way.
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I am so sorry
PS:
you have friends out here. We are more (in number and respect) than you will ever know.
XO
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Ang,
What is XO?
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Traditionally, it’s a kiss and a hug.
Sending Diane more of the same! XOXOXO
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Hi Duane ,
Yes, an AE said, XO is a kiss and a hug. I believe it is ( perhaps?) southern as I picked it up from my mother.
XO to you, too.
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Thanks for the response. XOs in reply!
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So sorry to,hear. Wishing you a speedy recovery but do take it easy and take care of yourself.
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Listen to opera! And prop that leg up. I promise it will help.
Friends of Diane remember her Sunday gifts to us. Perhaps one or two of you have a poem for her on Sundays of the future. I will try for an aria later on. We need to space this idea out.
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Diane–My thoughts and prayers are with you. Heed blogger deb’s advice and watch closely. Rest and take care.
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Diane – I’m sorry for the setbacks but very glad to hear that healing powers are again headed in the right direction. It’s amazing that you’ve remained so ‘on top’ of education news through all of this.
Your many admirers are all pulling for you and want to make sure you are taking care of yourself as well as you’re taking care of all of us. Thousands of prayers and good wishes are with you, and here’s hoping you can feel each and every one.
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Maybe a tip?
Less than two months ago, I ‘pulled a hamstring’. Had the same nasty-looking black bruise in back of my knee after a few days (even though the source of pain seemed to be higher in the back of my leg). Anyway, the Mayo Clinic posting about hamstring injuries stated that a compression bandage (like the old ‘Ace Bandage’) wrapped from the point farthest from the heart (somewhat above the knee) toward the upper thigh would help alleviate the pain. It worked like a charm!
I could function with the bandage on with much less pain. The bruise changed color and sank into my calf, then disappeared. Now I only have a very slight sense of tightness, and can bend, kneel and kick without fear of pain.
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Thanks, John.
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Rest up, take care and feel better soon! We love you!
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Be we’ll. We all need your wisdom!
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I have tried not to respond to your posts because I know you get so many. However, what you said is so true….you feel like a friend to me. I cannot thank you enough for all you do and write about the plight of public education. I am so very sorry about your knee and difficult recovery. There are so many of us sending you the best of wishes, prayers and hopes for a good and full recovery. You are loved by many. Diane Payne, Philadelphia
Sent from my iPad
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Dear Diane,
Thank you for keeping us informed. I’ve been praying for you- for the healing of your body and spirit. I teach in Chicago and always find hope in your writing. Many thanks!!
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We are giving you a day off of your choice. Feel better!
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SPEEDY AND FAST RECOVERY DIANE! YOU WILL BE BETTER BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.
BEST,
ANNA
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Diane, sorry to hear about the setback. Some of us don’t do easy well and I think you are one of them. Take it easy and enjoy a lemonade summer.
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Thanks for the update. So glad to read that you are making progress again! 🎉😃👣
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Be careful! We are all boosting you up in our wishes:)!!!
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Hope you are up and around soon!
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Please don’t rush the healing. It will take time to be back to normal. We all want what’s best for you. So rest and take good care of yourself. Down the road when you’re 100% better than you can take that long walk that makes you happy.
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Dear Diane,
I suspected from your late-night postings that something like this had happened. I’m so sorry to hear it. You are in my heart and my thoughts.
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Sorry to hear, Diane. You are smart enough to get the care you need and brave enough to kick that thing’s butt–with your other leg for now. Heal up!
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Get well!
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Diane…Please take care of yourself!
“Self love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self neglecting” (Henry V)
Rafe Esquith
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Thank you, Rafe, and happy to see that you read the blog!
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Hoping that you’re soon on your feet again, but please take it easy. You are so dear to many of us–even those of us who don’t write often. I don’t often write but I read your blog every single day. You are doing an amazing job and I’m so grateful that you’re there. Hugs to you.
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Praying for your quick pain free total recovery!
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
– First Amendment to the United States Constitution
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Keeping you in my thoughts and healing prayers! Do what you have to do to get well so we can fight this ‘evil dragon’ together! You are my she-ro!
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I hope the good wishes of all your friends gives your morale a lift. You are used to an active lifestyle, and the various problems and setbacks you’ve had to endure must be very frustrating. Thank you for the update. You are much more than a source of information to the people who read your blog. Your willingness to be genuine and accessible have indeed made you a friend.
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Hope things continue to get better again and this time, may they stay better.
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Sorry about that. As an experienced hemotobite and hamstring tearer, I know it takes time and is very frustrating. Keep listening to the docs and rest up.
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God Bless you Diane. May your knee be doubly blessed and heal quickly. Those legs of yours support a walk of justice that we all depend on.
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Speedy recovery. Please know that if wishes could make it true, you’d be better a hundred times over already!
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Take it one day at a time. You can beat this but you must be patient. Two steps forward, one step back – keep positive!
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Please take your time and rest as much as necessary. We need you!
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You are in my thoughts as is often the case. Get well soon. We need you so much.
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Blessings to you and your healing knee.
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Please take care, Diane. Your continued good health is very important to your fans. May your pain be less each day!
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“Money cannot buy health, but I’d settle for a diamond-studded wheelchair.” [Dorothy Parker]
😏
Good health, and probably best to keep working on that bum knee and leg…
😎
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KTA,
Sentiment and reference….
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This is a slow process so expect setbacks. But most of all, don’t rush your recovery. Sorry you had to experience pain. That’s the heartbreaking part of all of this.
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Praying your body and your soul will heal completely.
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Diane, you are in my thoughts and prayers. May your knee quickly heal so you can continue your critical work encouraging soldiers across the US in this battle for education.
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Jets fans like me are counting on you to be ready to go sometime this season. But please don’t come back to soon. Do what the trainer says and heal up. We need you in December for our playoff run.
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Ugh. Sorry about your setback, but I just know you’ll be hopping around without help or pain as soon as possible! Speedy recovery–and thanks for all you do!
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Yes, changing colors is a sign of healing–happened to me when I broke a shoulder—same big bruises turned many colors en route to a yellow before going away, so I think this will blow over…take good care.
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Best wishes for healing quickly. You do so much good in this world!
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“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” ~Irish Proverb
Enjoy some laughs …
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0LEV0pUmMhTg3MA80bBGOd_?ei=UTF-8&fr=ipad&p=jim+gaffigan+mr+universe+full+video&rs=1&fr2=rs-bottom
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Hope your leg is better soon and then may I recommend a deep water, not shallow –
Deep water aerobics glass. Water has been the salvation for so many of yes. Please
Try it or if you have access to a pool you need an aqua belt and I will send you
The workout- it is Pilates in the water.
So admire your work send contribution Thank you.
Marcy Dunne Ballard, an Al Shanker mentoree
San Francisco
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One step at a time you’ll get there.
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Diane, please don’t push yourself! Treat yourself gently so that you can heal properly. You are such a treasure in the fight of corporate reform. Your wisdom and information is invaluable. Thank you! But please do take care.
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So been there orthopedically…. you have my heartfelt sympathy. Hang in there. Rest more. It will get better.
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Our family will continue to keep you in ours prayers. Please take time off to fully recover.
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Be well-take it slowly-we are all wishing for the universe to bring ease to your leg!
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Please take care, Diane. Remember the words of Shakespeare in Henry V: “Self love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.” Take care of yourself. Public school teachers are grateful for your voice.
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Oh no! Please take care of yourself. Baby steps. Sending you some quick healing vibes. 🙂
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William Cozart
Diane, you are in my thoughts and prayers every day. Take care of yourself and may you have a complete recovery soon. And, as you walk with that cane, remember the thousands of us who are walking taller and with greater pride than ever that we are teachers — because of YOU. God bless you.
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I happened to be thinking yesterday about you…..and baseball -believe it or not.
You know how extremely rare it is for a professional baseball player to hit .400 ?
You operate at that level, Diane. I mean you just keep hitting them out of the park, so to speak. You’re a pro. And, your devotion to this blog and public schools and our children is tenacious. And, if you get knocked down, you get up and dust yourself off and keep on going. That inspires us.
No one operating at your level, at that margin, is NOT going to suffer some sort of injury -at any age.
We’re cheering for you! And, isn’t it great that this country has someone to cheer for.
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Ira writes that changing colors is a sign of healing. So there you go. And if you were surrounded by a bunch of young children, everyone would ooh and aah everday at how lucky you are to have a changing colored leg. They would touch the bruise, sing to it, definitely kiss it, maybe crayon pictures of it that then get taped up on a wall and slip tiny colorful rubberbands onto the cane. Many little shamaan blessing on that sturdy leg of yours. Love!
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Diane,
The healing road is seldom without curves and bumps. The important thing is to slow down whenever your body lets you know you should. Go ahead slowly and gently, even though it seems ridiculously slow to you.
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I am sorry I missed the note about you needing surgery. God bless you and bring you complete healing. Sounds like time to pamper yourself.
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Praying for your complete recovery. Rest, reflect and take it easy.
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Ms. Ravitch, Please be careful. We’re you checked for DVT? A torn Hamstring is pretty serious. We need you on the front lines, so please be careful!
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Thanks, Kassie. I had a DVT last fall. Am watching for it.
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We all need you in the fight–you must get well quickly, for all of our sakes–selfish, I know, but may this problem be short-lived and i wish you a quick road to recovery.
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Please take care of yourself!
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Diane, I’ve had the same situation, as I mentioned. You have to be very VERY careful about those lumps on the back of the leg or they can prove fatal. I’ve been tempted for the past couple of years to dump the cane and strut around — only to be blindsided by something like you are describing. At one point, my doctor shot me up with Lovenox — and then told me to go to the Emergency Room at a hospital five miles away because they would “get to it faster.” Fourteen hours later, after waiting in the ER amid all that George W. Bush version of medicine, I was worked out of it. (Sharon finished a novel in half the time we were waiting; they didn’t even have enough beds in the ER for everyone there, so they lined up the gurneys and put us on those)…
As we organize to represent retiree teachers here in Chicago, we are more and more aware of the tricks that are used against us by corporate medicine in the USA, which is even more evil than corporate “school reform.” (Few people die because of corporate “school reform”..).
Better to shop for a cool cane. My sons went to “Fashionable Canes” and shopped carefully to find one that looked like James Bond would be using it while recovering from a bad fight. (At airports they double check it for a sword). During the AFT convention I was only able to get a scooter one day, and had to hike around using my cane the other three days. The inside walking was often more than a mile at the Los Angeles convention center. All that meant is that you have to be sure to do serious pain management — and get some rest later. I told the AFT people that next convention they were going to need at least three times as many scooters as they had in L.A. As we organize more and more retirees, that’s simply a given.
Back to those lumps on the back of the leg. They come to those of us who spend hours each day sitting on chairs. And there is no chair that can work to ease it.
So the solution is to get up and walk around for at least five minutes out of each hour.
Get well and continue to give ’em hell. But carefully. We have to act our age in more ways than one or two, but it’s great to be here…
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Diane, thanks for sharing. Hope you feel better very soon. And yes, I too consider you a friend.
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Thank you for the update. You are amazing and we need you more than ever. But. Give yourself the gift of time to heal. Please.
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Hoping that this setback is over and that you are feeling better very soon.
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Hope you are on the road to recovery – be good to yourself.
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Wishing you the very best, Diane. You are an inspiration to educators everywhere!
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I saw Margaret Mead use a multipurpose support handcrafted from wood, perhaps by an artisan in Oceania. It worked as a cane, crutch, and staff…and a crowd-clearing tool. I saw her use it this way in a ballroom where she was scheduled to be the keynote speaker. After parting the crowd and making her way to the podium, she acknowledged that it was not only a wonderful “crutch” but could be used as an emblem of extraordinary power. With that remark, she raised it over head in a gesture that now, in retrospect, reminds me of Charlton Heston raising the rifle over his head at an NRA convention. Of course, she was engaging in a self-deprecating joke. She did not need to have a symbol of power any more than you do.
The bruising will last longer than you think, and the colors will migrate. Been there with a broken collar bone and breast that looked like an eggplant.
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So sorry for the setback but glad to know you are still mending. I look forward to your blog every single day, even when the news is not good. Thank you for fighting the good fight!
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The sliver lining, for me at least, is that you don’t need to walk to blog! I really like your piece on Huffington Post today. It reminds me why you are one of my top two heroes (E.D. Hirsch is the other one) –who else has the gravitas, the brains, and the morals to lead the way you’ve been leading us? You remind me why erudition is a great good –for that, it seems to me, is a big ingredient in your prowess –and why self-sacrifice for the common good is noble and beautiful.
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You nailed it right here, Ponderosa: “the gravitas, the brains, and the morals”.
These are essentials for teachers, for themselves and to embed in our students. These qualities are why Diane is our leader.
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Best wishes
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$#(*$#*(*$&&!!!!!
Wishing this weren’t happening to you!!!! Please make sure that you see your doctor frequently for monitoring of this. And thank you for keeping us posted.
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You continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. I shared your story with someone who also was struggling with depression after knee surgery. Stories are powerful in helping each other!
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Diane, I hope you will be mended soon. So sorry about the set back. Just know that you have many, many of us who are thinking of you and lifting you up in our thoughts. You and I may never have a face to face conversation, but I consider you a friend as your blog is one of the first things I read each morning before starting my workday. Take care of yourself and know you are loved and revered by many.
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I like the story about Margaret Meade a lot. I am going to keep it , and hope you do too. Many good wishes sent your way…
christine
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Along with the others: Thanks for the update. We DO care what is happening and am glad that you choose to let us know what is happening.
As like everyone else, so VERY sorry for the setback and DO take it easy.
God bless:
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Take care of YOU….Seems hard to nail you down….but “baby steps” are necessary in order to fully recover!! Thanks for ALL that you do…
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This blog is a community that cares about you, greatly, and wishes, all of the best for you.
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If you don’t get well quickly, we will take turns giving you piggy back rides wherever you need to go.
It would be a fair exchange for the service you are doing through your activism.
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There are some great guided healing meditations on YouTube. Sometimes in life, just silencing the mind for a short time helps a great deal when getting through the heartaches and setbacks in life. Sending you peace and continued healing. You are an amazing inspiration to many in this world. Thank you for all you continue to do, while fighting your own personal climb to returned good health.
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Diane,
Yes, the meditation helps. Try online meditation it is really good at this site:
http://www.freemeditation.com/
(the whole site is totally free has fantastic articles, advices, online meditation course, meditation music, kids meditation stuff, etc.)
Keeping feet in salt water helps to soothe the pain and inflammations in leg. It helped me when I had health issues in my legs, and still helps – whenever I get heat and burning in my feet use this method.
http://www.freemeditation.com/articles/2009/08/31/how-to-do-footsoaking/
Kind regards
Hope you feel better soon,
Preeti
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You are the treasure of public educators. Thank you for sharing. Will be sending healing thoughts.
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Be good to yourself and rest, rest rest. You’ll be dancing before you know it
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Please take a much needed break and relax and rejuvenate so your voice can be stronger than ever! Thinking of you.
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Diane, Thank you for the update. Please know that my thoughts for healing, wellness and patience are being sent your way. You are a gift, but, please, take care of yourself- first.
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Rest, eat healthy foods, increase Vitamin C for healing, and keep your wonderful, energetic attitude–we all appreciate your devotion to education, Diane. 🙂
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Diane. So sorry to learn of your. New problems. Hang In there. Jerry
Sent from my iPad
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I know this is very overdone and you are probably terrific and running marathons now, but all my best wishes and prayers for your continued good health this school year.
Jennie Duggan jduggan@utla.net ________________________________
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