*Left: 26 week surgery anniversary*
Today is the day. The day that my entire academic career has culminated to. I woke up really early to get all of my stuff together and to get in one final practice of my presentation. I felt at peace and confident that I was going to nail my defense. I chose to wear a short-sleeved blouse that epitomizes my personality (hot pink lace fabric with a jeweled neckline and a bow at the back) with a pair of black dress pants. I wore a neon pink and orange zebra striped sock under my boot on my right foot and a neon pink sock under my lace-up ankle brace on my left foot. Of course I also had my neon pink and orange tennis shoe on my left foot also. My dress pants oh so nicely draped over my boot and my tennis shoe, so the audience had no idea that I had all that neon going on under my clothes.
My friend picked me up, because I am of course that girl that couldn't even drive herself to her own dissertation defense. Anyways, I arrived an hour early and got everything set up. My defense went, in my opinion, flawlessly. I spoke even and confidently. I was able to stand for the entire 45 min presentation, with only occasionally leaning on my walker. Of course my feet were on fire at around the 30 min point, but I wasn't going to let them stop me. My slides directly correlated to my oral presentation. I fielded questions from the audience and my committee with no problems. I knew the literature and my study so thoroughly that there was no question in anyone's mind that I was going to pass my defense...and that I did. I PASSED MY DISSERTATION DEFENSE!!!
Afterwards, I went to lunch with my friends to celebrate and then home to rest, ice, and elevate my feet. I didn't leave my bed for the rest of the day!
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Reflection
It has been a long and arduous road to get to this point. So many sacrifices...just so many sacrifices. I doubted myself at times and questioned why I was doing this to myself, but I absolutely never gave up. Today, I stand proud of what I have accomplished. I am trying to enjoy the moment, since I really have accomplished this major life goal. However, again, in the context of my life at the moment, me getting a PhD is nowhere near as important to me as it used to be, and doesn't even compare to my quest of being able to lead a normal life again. I am mentally abled and at the top of my game, but physically disabled as an expert in a field exclusively reserved for abled bodied people. The quote for today is perfect to capture the end point of my PhD, because now I get to live the rest of my life as a doctor, but it is also a source of inspiration to continue my struggle to rehab these feet of mine and get back to an active lifestyle. I will be nothing but a champion if I ever get to run a race again.
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