Big news!! February 13, 2013

Hi everyone--

What an eventful day! We drove up to Columbus for a visit with Izzy and meeting with his neurologist. During the meeting, we learned that Izzy definitely had a stroke and that he could be helped through physical therapy!! What amazing news!! We got to hold him, and he was holding up his head and looking much more alert. He had completely charmed the staff, and he definitely had the doctors and technicians on his side :) The neurologist turned his case over to a rehabilitation therapist, and she explained the exercises and treatment regiment. We decided to leave him in Columbus until Saturday for extensive treatment and therapy.

We were just leaving the consult room and entering the hallway when my phone rang. It was Nancy Kidd, the executive director of the National Communication Association. She told me that she was calling with what she hoped would be good news and that I had been elected as Second Vice President Elect of NCA!! WOW!!!!!!! Truly, I had genuinely considered the nomination to be a gift, and I was beyond thrilled with this news. I am so excited about the opportunity to serve members of the association and to help others to have positive, meaningful, valuable experiences with NCA!!

My term as 2nd VP-Elect starts now, and I will become Second Vice President as of January 1, 2014. I will be First Vice President as of January 1, 2015, and I will plan our national conference in Las Vegas, to be held in November, 2015. I will then be President during our national conference in Philadelphia in 2016.

In the course of 15 minutes, we received amazing news about an important member of our family (Izzy) and incredible news about a wonderful journey that will last for the next four years. Roger and the girls are being very supportive about all of the travel that will be involved. I am so eager to talk with our members and to serve in any way that I can!

Well, Roger and I left Medvet, enjoyed lunch at Olive Garden, and got home in time to pick up Ellie-Kate and dive right into a typical evening of homework, playtime, and bedtime (as well as the new season of Survivor!). It's always so interesting how the incredible gets juxtaposed with the ordinary in our lives... Our girls ground us, and I'm so grateful to them for likely caring more about Izzy's good prognosis than about any professional accomplishment that either of us might have. Absolutely-- as it should be!!

Hope all is well with you!

Christie