http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/ en-us Copyright 2009 Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:38:32 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Our group working on the boardwalk
(Photo: Brandy Scaglione - Lions' Pride Online) I ‘pre-recruited’ a few people and then manned (or should I say ‘womaned’?) the table at the sign-up fair. We ended up with a fun, eclectic bunch of students and staff, all of whom were looking forward to enjoying a nice day outside! After everyone went their own way for lunch, about 15 of us ended up heading over to the park where we donned our latex gloves, grabbed our paint brushes and buckets, and got to work sealing the boardwalk. The weather was perfect – not too hot or cold (about 72), with a light breeze. Everyone seemed to have a great time. And because we were so terribly efficient, we even finished a little early! All in all, it was a great day. Back on campus late that afternoon, everyone was busy comparing notes from their various experiences. Some had worked at local food banks, some helped at a horse farm with rescued animals (I know – you’re wondering why I didn’t pick that one, right?), some volunteered at a local pregnancy care center. There were more than 30 different sites from which to choose, so pretty much everyone found something that ‘fit’ their particular interests. The 'Withlacoochee Gang'!
(Photo: Brandy Scaglione - Lions' Pride Online) I had a great time and got to know some SLU students a little bit better. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2009/01/serving_the_community.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2009/01/serving_the_community.html Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:38:32 -0500 Happy New Year everyone! I hope it is off to a good start and that it will bring good things for all of you! With the year I had in 2008, I can honestly say that I am READY for things to change. I certainly hope 2009 has better things in store for me and my family. The new year will also hopefully bring better things for our nation. We will soon be inaugurating our new President, and no matter which side you voted for, I think we all hope that the finality of the outcome will help to at least somewhat quiet the instability being felt in the economy. No one knows where things are headed, and I doubt there are many households where the economic pinch is not being felt. But it’s times like these when we all tend to take a good look at the things that need to take priority in our lives. For us, education is an important commitment. While my daughter is still quite a few years away from college, I still make contributing to her college fund a priority in our budget. For many of you reading this, college is already upon you. Perhaps you planned well ahead and are in pretty good shape, or perhaps you got a late start or couldn’t set anything at all aside in advance. Whatever the case, we understand your situation and are committed to helping you make college affordable. Whether you have stuck with your New Year’s Resolution or cast it aside already, here is a new resolution to add to your list. Get started on financial aid matters early. The first step is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Saint Leo requires this form to determine eligibility for federal, state and institutional (Saint Leo-funded) aid. You can fill out your form online by visiting www.fafsa.ed.gov. Be certain to enter the Saint Leo institution code, which is 001526. You can do this as soon as you’ve filed your taxes, or you can do it now with estimated figures. If you estimate, you may need to go back and file a correction online once you have completed your tax return. Remember that the earlier you fill out your FAFSA, the more likely you will be to be able to receive the maximum amount of funds for which you qualify. This is because some of the sources of aid are quickly depleted, so those who file later may run the risk of finding those funds no longer available, even if they meet the eligibility requirements. One of the best ways to get answers to questions about attending Saint Leo and about financial aid is to join us for our LEOLive online chats. Each chat from now until the end of the academic year will feature a dedicated room staffed with a financial aid representative. To see our schedule and register for one or more upcoming sessions, visit www.saintleo.edu/chat. It’s a great way to get helpful answers to your questions. You’ll also be able to speak to current SLU students and admission counselors. Additional representatives from Residence Life and Student Involvement will participate in sessions later in the term. I hope you will plan to join us for one or more of these sessions. For more helpful information, visit our Student Financial Services website at www.saintleo.edu/finaid. And of course, don't hesitate to call us here at the Office of Admission for help. You can reach us at 800-334-5532 or send us an email. Since you're already online and reading this, why not head on over to the FAFSA website and take a look around!]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2009/01/financial_aid_resolution.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2009/01/financial_aid_resolution.html Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:22:19 -0500 It’s almost 2009! In just 48 more hours, I’ll have to prepare myself to scratch through everything I have to put a date on for about a month. I seem to have about a 20-30 day window in January when my brain refuses to acknowledge that the year has changed! For now, I’m just reflecting on a beautiful Christmas holiday with my family. On Christmas morning, we had a pretty quiet and uneventful time opening presents. Then my mother arrived at 10 a.m. bearing a BIG giftbag and envelopes for each of us. She read a poem and then instructed us to all open our envelopes at the same time. Inside each was a Carnival Cruise Fun Pass! The big bag held a new set of luggage, and we had two and a half hours to pack and be ready to leave for the port. Yes, you read that right. We were all sailing on Christmas day! I was aware of this, as my mom needed an ‘inside man’ to help get arrangements made for our two dogs, and to set as much of the clothes we’d need for the trip aside as possible without drawing attention to what I’d done. Her bag was already packed and in the trunk. So while she cooked us all a big breakfast, we packed and got everything set to head out to the Port of Tampa. We arrived and boarded the Carnival Inspiration about 1:45. A little past 4:00 we were underway. We passed under the beautiful Sunshine Skyway Bridge at sunset, which made for some beautiful photos. I haven’t cruised for a long time, and it was the first time for the rest of my crew. It was amazing how relaxed we all felt as soon as we stepped out onto the deck! Sailing under the Sunshine Skyway at Sunset...that's a lot of 'S's'! The next few days were wonderful as we enjoyed all the great things the ship had to offer. We were thrilled to arrive in Cozumel, and took a great excursion where we drive Rhinos (sort of like off-road golf carts) through the ecological preserve at Punta Sur. We enjoyed the beautiful lighthouse, spent some time on a gorgeous beach, saw saltwater crocodiles, an 800 year-old Mayan temple, and ended with some snorkeling. A late lunch portside and some shopping capped off a truly memorable day. Driving the Rhinos along the coast at Punta Sur The lighthouse at Punta Sur Tom, me and Annie at the Port of Cozumel I’m amazed by how many students told me they were cruising right before or right after Christmas or New Year’s. I would have figured that to be more of a spring break activity, but some were actually doing both – a holiday cruise with the family and a spring break cruise with friends! None of the ones I spoke to were on our specific cruise, but who knows…there may have been a few! So enjoy some more photos of the trip, and rest up for your New Year’s festivities! I’ll see you back here in 2009! Me enjoying a seaside hammock at Punta Sur This lovely fellow came near to visit us while we enjoyed some chips and salsa in the ecological park Annie and my mom all decked out for snorkeling Annie and Mom with one of the fabulous towel animals left in our staterooms each evening ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/12/2009_is_upon_us.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/12/2009_is_upon_us.html Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:02:10 -0500 Yes the end of the term is upon us! Students are busy with exams, and I bet that the amount of studying taking place during exam week alone exceeds the total amount spent in all of the preceding weeks of the semester! Just kidding, our Leo students wouldn’t procrastinate like that (wink, wink). While we on the Admission staff are starting to wrap things up, we will be here a bit longer than the students and come back earlier! We’ll be off as an office beginning December 24th, but we will have skeleton staff here for December 29-30. Our office will reopen in full on January 5th. I’m sure everyone is looking forward to the holidays and some much needed R & R, but there is WORK to be done first! To help students with a study break that will stick to their ribs, the university staged a Midnight Breakfast on December 8th. The dining hall opened to serve late night breakfast to hungry and stressed students. Volunteers from around the university come to help serve the students. It’s a great way for everyone to take a break and kick back for just a little while before returning to the books. Volunteers help to serve the students breakfast. Students enjoy some downtime before they dive back into their books and notes! My family has a big Christmas surprise coming, but I can’t post it yet or they might see it! So check back after Christmas and see what it was! I know all of you are probably running around shopping, decorating, hosting or attending Christmas parties, etc. I do hope that you will all take time to sit back and relax, breathe in, breathe out, and ENJOY the holidays and your time together. I’d like to close by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a very happy holiday season. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/12/its_almost_here.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/12/its_almost_here.html Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:42:50 -0500 Can you believe it is almost Thanksgiving? It seems like the last four months are just a blur. The year seems to be speeding up – Christmas and New Year’s will be here before we know it! I know most of our students are getting excited about heading home for Thanksgiving. Although we feed them well here at Leo, nothing beats the family Thanksgiving traditions they know and love. We’ve had a busy month here on campus. First up was our annual President’s Reception on November 8th. The campus welcomed more than 350 guests for an open house event for prospective students and their families. The event is always a great way to learn more about the university and to meet other prospective students. The highlights of the day include helpful panel discussions with current SLU students and parents, financial aid seminars, an academic and activities fair where students can meet with faculty members and organization leaders, campus tours and more. This year’s event was a big success. To read more about it, click here. Prospective students and parents meet with faculty members during the Academic & Activities Fair in the courtyard. Next up was fall Community Service Day on November 11th. We have this event twice a year – the fall version coincides with Veteran’s Day and includes the Veteran’s Day ceremonies, while the spring version is held in January on MLK Day, also preceded by a recognition ceremony. These days were picked as classes are closed, so students, faculty and staff can more easily join in the afternoon activities. Everyone is encouraged to head out to a volunteer site to perform community service in keeping with our Core Values of Community and Responsibility. There are a variety of sites both on and off campus where everyone can volunteer, and it is always a fun day. I wasn’t able to participate in the fall version but will do so in January, so I’m sure you’ll hear more about it in a future post! More than 700 students, faculty and staff volunteered, so it was a very successful day. Veteran's Day ceremony on campus. A student gets down and dirty (in a good way!) on Community Service Day. Check out more great pictures from the Veteran’s Day ceremonies and Community Service Day. So with Thanksgiving just days away, I am reflecting on how much I have to be thankful for, this year more than most, so it will be a very special one for me and my family. Let me end this post by wishing everyone a blessed and happy Thanksgiving holiday. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/11/november_happenings.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/11/november_happenings.html Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:28:25 -0500 Ubu Roi, a student talent show, and the Harvest Moon Festival. The weekend concluded on Sunday with a lakeside mass and final brunch. Although I didn’t personally attend many of the events, it was fun to see the freshmen wandering around campus giving their parents the ‘grand tour’ from their new perspective as Saint Leo students! As for me, I’m continuing to do better every day. It’s a slow process…a lot of two steps forward, then one step (or sometimes three steps) back. But we’re getting there. The past few weeks have been fun for us as a family as we spent my birthday evening in Orlando at Universal Studios. We had dinner at the Hard Rock café, where I got to explain the significance of the Berlin Wall to my daughter as the café has a piece of it on display outside the restaurant. We followed that with a performance by Blue Man Group at the adjacent Sharp Aquos theater. If you’ve never been to see them, you should absolutely go. They were AMAZING! My daughter was selected to go on stage to participate in one of the skits, and returned home with a set of blue fingerprint-stained drumsticks as a result! It was a lot of fun, and this birthday seemed to have extra significance this year given what’s been going on in my life! Annie and I enjoy Universal Studios CityWalk on my birthday! After being thoroughly TP'd at Blue Man Group! But the best event of recent weeks was definitely the horse show! Annie and I both made debuts at our local Harvest Days Horse Show in Tampa. I drove Narcisse (aka ‘Emmy’) for the first time. We made a few mistakes, as she is being shown in a new division and is still adjusting to some of the different rules in that class, but she was one of the most talked about horses at the show! Let me tell you, it is fun when you hear people talking about ‘that gorgeous black driving horse’ and know they’re talking about YOUR horse! We didn’t win, but for our first trip in the ring, we did just fine. Now we know what we need to focus on over the winter and we’ve gotten the ‘first show jitters’ out of the way! Next show will be in March, and I can hardly wait. Me with Narcisse in our debut performance. And yes, she is black. She had to be body clipped before the show because her hair was woolly (think black chia pet), so she has a sort of grey cast to her in this pic. But the crowning event was my daughter’s debut with her horse Answered Prayer (aka ‘Fred’). This was nerve-wracking as it was going to be her first time showing off of a lead line, completely under her own control. Her horse is wonderful, but he is still a big (17 hands) high-powered show horse so there was some slight worry he might get too pumped up in the show ring atmosphere and make her too nervous to handle it. It’s impossible to simulate the horse show environment when you are training at home, so that is always the ‘X Factor’ when you get to the horse show! But I’m happy to report that she did a beautiful job…she had a few minor mistakes and didn’t place as highly as we’d hoped, but she had a solid, safe and most importantly – FUN – ride! Her grandmother, father and I both survived the occasion without any chemical intervention. I joked with several people who were confessing that they’d missed most of Annie’s ride as they were too busy watching me at railside instead. I explained that I was absolutely in agreement with the philosophy of preaching ‘Don’t Do Drugs!’ to our kids, but that in cases like this I felt it was probably highly advisable and in some cases medically necessary for parents watching their children show to take whatever was necessary to keep from throwing up, passing out or causing any other disturbance or embarrassment. Once the class was over and I was watching her waiting in the lineup for the awards, I was totally overcome with pride at how far she has come, and with [WARNING: SHAMELESS PARENTAL BRAGGING AHEAD!] the natural talent she possesses, how far she may be able to go if she sticks with it! Annie on Answered Prayer at her debut horse show on November 1, 2008. All three generations of us - kinda cool! She's actually the sixth generation of our family to be involved with horses! So the bottom line is that this was really the first time I truly looked at her as a young lady, not my ‘little one’ anymore. That is probably partially to do with the fact that her stirrups are just two holes shorter than mine (not saying much, I have the world’s shortest legs for someone my height) and that she was wearing my jodhpur boots (yes, I am sharing shoes with my 10 year old). And of course, it was the first time she’d been in full makeup (eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, blush) – and for those of you worried I’m turning her into another JonBenet, it is customary for children who are riding to wear makeup, sort of like being in a stage performance or in figure skating – because they are far away from the judges and spectators so it helps their features to stand out. Trust me, we were both happy when she could scrub ‘that stuff’ off her face later on in the day! Annie all set to ride (except for her coat) with 'that stuff' on her face! But I am realizing more and more every day how important these milestones are, and how they seem to be coming faster and faster. I am just certain that when I wake up next week it will be time for her first dance, next month will be her prom, and next year she’ll be graduating and getting ready to head off for college herself. Where does the time go? I’m sure any of you parents reading this are sympathetic to my feelings. And to the students reading this…don’t worry. One day you’ll be a parent and I promise you will understand! It’s hard to let your kids grow up, partially because you guys are just so darned cute when you’re little (that, and we can actually pull off putting you in ‘time out’ and you’ll forgive us), and partially because it means WE are getting old…er. So students, take it easy on the folks. This upcoming change is a big adjustment for them too. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/11/back_in_the_saddlesort_of.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/11/back_in_the_saddlesort_of.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:36:36 -0500 I mentioned in my last post that we were just getting things geared up with our LEOLive online chats. We host them generally twice a month beginning in late September. We just hosted our third session for the year last week. So what are these chats? Well, they’re a great way to get to know more about the university. The sessions are hosted by current SLU students as well as our admission counselors. Beginning in January 2009, we’ll also have representatives from our Office of Student Financial Services online during each of the chats to answer questions from students and parents about the all-important topic of financial aid. Staff members from Student Involvement and Residence Life will participate later in the spring as well. While there is no substitute for actually coming to campus and seeing it firsthand, the chats provide a great way for students who can’t visit campus to get more insight about life at Leo. The students will answer questions about pretty much anything – dorm life, classes, professors, majors, the social scene, what’s happening on campus and around the area. You name it. Admission counselors are also always online to answer questions about the admission process. The financial aid team will be represented in our chats from January through April as parents begin filling out the FAFSA and getting down to business on figuring out how to pay for college. I hope you will plan to join us for an upcoming chat session. To view the schedule and register online for a session, visit www.saintleo.edu/chat. I hope to see you online soon! ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/10/come_chat_with_us.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/10/come_chat_with_us.html Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0500 My right hand and 'keeper', Toni Recca She’ll be helping out with the blogs and is continuing to write about her own experiences as well, although it will be hard to top her adventures in Rome last fall during her study abroad program. She’s also been my right hand as we get ready for a major upcoming campus event, the President’s Reception. This event is our open house for prospective students. Since we feature information on all of our academic majors, I have the task of updating all of that information on every major before the event. Normally I start that process in August, but things are a bit tighter this year with my having been out until recently. Toni has already dived right in and is hard at work helping me to complete this tedious but very important task. Like me, she is afflicted with a somewhat anal retentive personality (we both consider that a compliment when someone points it out to us), so we work very well together. We’re just gearing up with our online chats as well. The chat sessions are yet another way for students to get to know more about Saint Leo. So much technology…so little time…I sure am grateful to have help getting it all done!]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/10/a_godsend.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/10/a_godsend.html Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:49:42 -0500 The Admission Office...my home away from home! Now don’t get me wrong, just because I am back doesn’t mean that I’m fine. I admit that I am struggling a bit. I’m working an abbreviated schedule for awhile. I have ZERO attention span, frequently have to take breaks, and make a habit of napping during lunch in my office, but hey…I’m BACK!!!! It was so great to start seeing the students again – it’s very energizing, and I can use all the energy I can get. Man, there are so many fantastic new faces! Saint Leo enrolled a record freshman class this year…we even had to institute a waiting list this spring. I hope we’ll have the same success for the Fall 2009 class! I do have a few sad moments when I realize that many of the students I know and love will be graduating this year as well. But such is the nature of what I do…eventually they all have to leave us to go put their Saint Leo experience to use in the real world. I’ve heard from many of the students that graduated this past spring. As they all left before my summer drama, they didn’t know what had happened. So it was particularly nice to know they were checking in just to see what was going on, not because they heard something bad had happened to me and felt they should (although that would have been appreciated nonetheless). Everyone is thankfully working, and several of them are balancing work with graduate school! I'm also going to be searching for a new student assistant, as mine from last year has moved on to working with the online edition of the school newspaper - GO COLLEEN! I'm already missing her help, but am thrilled she has this opportunity. I’m getting to know the new students – it is safe to say that the future is looking bright. What a great group of young minds! It is particularly interesting that we are getting to know one another in an election year, and the political debates are running rampant. In fact, most of those debates started back in the spring in our online community for admitted students, SLU360. It is a great utility, sort of our own private ‘facebook’-type environment where incoming students get to know each other online. We have people from around the university on there as well, and the discussion forums give students a place to ask questions and get answers or advice from current students and staff members. Quite a few students found their roommates on SLU360, so we’ll hopefully expand that capability for 2009. This is going to be a fun year, and I am resolved to be grateful for and enjoy every day of it! ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/09/back_to_workfinally_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/09/back_to_workfinally_1.html Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:15:07 -0500 Freedom Hall, home court of the University of Louisville Cardinals, is transformed into a beautiful show ring each August to host the World's Championship Horse Show. The event is the premier event for American Saddlebreds, Hackney Ponies and Standardbred show horses. This is a daytime photo – the stands are full at night! I’ve been ‘horseless’ myself personally for a good while, but all that changed not long after I got back from the World’s. As a trainer’s kid, I’ve spent lots of time helping to arrange presentations for horses being given to our customers as surprises. I’m all about the big red bow around the horse’s neck, the big speech, and helping to create a great memory as I know it is a moment they won’t forget. Now I’ve had some great horses in my time, but they all belonged to someone else (at least on paper) - my grandparents, my mom, etc. But I’ve never had a show horse presented to me until now. The most amazing gift... On August 29, I became the proud owner of a GORGEOUS black mare. My mom presented her to me in a quiet but incredibly emotional ceremony on the farm. She was awaiting me with our assistant trainer, Jenna Domanico, in a back field under a tree with a beautiful big red bow around her gorgeously long black neck! I had to be chauffeured to ‘the back 40’ as we call it (even though it’s only 10 acres!) by my mom’s neighbor Dick Wilson in his golf cart. God bless him, what a man he is. And really, everyone have their very own ‘Wilson’ for a neighbor (for you young people reading this, catch an episode of Home Improvement on cable to get that joke). Anyway, he drove me back there to ‘see what the ladies were up to’, and then she came out from under the tree into the sunlight and I saw the red bow. Tears flowed…words would not. It was a perfect moment. She came in with a less than elegant sounding name, so I changed it. She is now Narcisse. It is the perfect name for her as she is stunningly beautiful and she KNOWS it! And she is kind of a diva...so just a one word name is perfect. Cher, Madonna, Beyonce, and most of the supermodels go by one name so it fits. But that is what I love about all good Saddlebreds…they LOVE to show themselves off. Doesn’t matter if anyone is watching or not – they seem to just be ‘on’ all the time. So her barn name is ‘Emmy’ (her previous show name had Empress in it so they've always called her that - saw no need to change that). I had a great time taking pictures and sending them to my horsey friends. I particularly enjoyed sending a message to my dear friend Carson Kressley (if the name is familiar, yes he is the Queer Eye/How to Look Good Naked guy). He’s also an Emmy winner. I got the pleasure of telling him that he had his Emmy, and now I had MINE! =) So Emmy and I will be getting to know each other. I won’t be allowed to ride at all until after the first of the year most likely, but she has been showing in driving classes this year anyway, so I can get busy driving her now! Although I’ve had a lot of time off work recently, I’m excited to know I will have to be extra cautious with my schedule next year as I will have the pleasure of traveling to some horse shows to compete with her! I doubt we will see the show ring this year as the season is winding down. Maybe we’ll consider our local show here in November. We’ll see. Right now I’m just reveling in the fact that I own this gorgeous and sweet animal. It’s rare to find such a combination of beauty, talent and disposition in a horse (or in a person for that matter). I often wonder if I should count her as a miracle too, but since that would further deplete my already waning supply of miracles, I think I will just consider her as a wonderful blessing. I think my luck is finally changing! My beautiful Narcisse from the show in July where my mom bought her for me (I know it says 2007 but it was taken in 2008) Let me leave you with one of my favorite quotes, as it is certainly more true for me now than ever before: “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” – Winston Churchill ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/09/good_things_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/09/good_things_1.html Tue, 09 Sep 2008 05:13:58 -0500 I always used to love that time in the first few weeks of school where you had to write an essay on “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”…Well, I don’t actually get a summer vacation these days, but I certainly had a very exciting summer! Now this is going to be a long entry (sort of like that essay, but please don’t grade me on this one). Given the subject matter, I think I’ll forgo including a photo. You’ll understand shortly, and will hopefully forgive me for that – NO ONE looks good in a hospital gown. Well, maybe when you've just had your baby...but that is because the cuteness factor of the baby rubs off on you a bit. As the 2008-2009 academic year opened, I was not there to welcome all of our new students to campus. I was also not there for the fun New Student Orientation event this summer. While our students were enjoying orientation, I was cooling my heels in the local hospital. When driving home from work on July 3rd, I began experiencing excruciating chest pain. I managed to successfully get myself to the urgent care clinic just a mile from my house. I had chest x-rays, an EKG and it all seemed to show nothing remarkable, but the doctor was very concerned and STRONGLY suggested that I get to the ER immediately. We ran home, grabbed some clothes (as he indicated that he felt it would be likely they would keep me for observation), and headed off to the hospital. Now I’ve never been a fan of the emergency room (are there any such sick and twisted people?), but I will say that when you enter the ER with severe chest pain, there is not much of a wait! They got me into a curtained area, and quickly had me all hooked up to about a million machines and monitors as well as an IV. The IV part is tricky as it seems I have no actual veins to speak of. Seriously. Nurses who do nothing but IVs and blood draws have occasionally been driven to tears working on me over the years. After sending me down the hall for the pleasant experience of at CT scan with the dye injected through my IV, I just had to wait to see what the verdict would be. A few nervous hours later, I heard the doctor speaking to the head ER nurse from the desk just outside my ‘room’, advising her which patients would be likely to go home and which would be admitted. “13 is probably heading home…just waiting on her CT results”. Yes, I would be “13”. I am happy to hear that I may be going home, but also think to myself that it is really sort of a bad idea to have a patient area “13” in an emergency room. I mean, I’m not ridiculously superstitious, but I figure others are. And a lot of taller buildings don’t even have 13th floors, so certainly the HOSPITAL should respect the nerves of superstitious patients. OK, so since I’ve spent time discussing this, I suppose I should really confess that I CAN be superstitious…it is a horse person thing I guess. Just don’t ever put a hat on a bed around me, or look at me weird when I won’t take the salt shaker you are passing to me directly from your hand, but wait on you to put it down instead. And you will NEVER see me eating peanuts at a horse show! My husband met my (very superstitious) father for the first time at our World’s Championship Horse Show…with a bag of peanut M&Ms in his hand! Dad’s reaction was not particularly positive, but I finally convinced Tom that it was not him…it was the PEANUTS! But I digress… So when my nurse comes in next, I share my thought that they really ought to do away with “Curtain 13” in their ER. She does not seem amused. With the help of painkillers and whatever else they shot me up with, I find my suggestion highly insightful and hysterically funny. Oh well. At least I was finally laughing. A little later I hear my doc on the phone with what I assume to be the radiologist. “Really? Three of them? Wow…I guess she is a very lucky young lady. I’ll go tell her now…”, I hear him say to the other end of the line. Seconds later, he walks into my room. “Mrs. O’Donnell…do you play the lottery?” he asks me. “No,” I answer. “Well, maybe you should. You’re a VERY lucky lady,” he says. After a dramatic pause, he informs me that I am not going to be able to go home that night or probably for several days. It seems that my CT scan shows that I am the proud owner of three rather impressive blood clots in my lungs. Although I can recall in extremely vivid detail the next few minutes of the conversation, I’ll spare you all the drama and medical jargon. In a nutshell, the three relatively large clots have blown through my heart and lodged in my lungs. I am lucky to have survived. They will do more tests, including looking carefully at my heart, to determine if there is any damage. They’ll also check to see if I have any more clots hiding anywhere. He also tells me that I’ll be starting immediately on some medication to quickly thin my blood to prevent future clots. The nurse comes in, but I notice she doesn’t have that cute little ketchup cup with a pill in it. She has a syringe and a needle. Before I know it, she’s rubbing alcohol on my stomach. “So where does that needle go?” I ask, horrified as I realize that I already know the answer. “Yep, in your stomach. Twice a day.” She doesn’t seem concerned in the least. I am not happy. After she administers the shot, she does soften a good bit. “You are so young for this. And lucky. I know this is a lot, but just trust me that you are lucky to be here, and focus on that right now. A lot of people aren’t as lucky,” she advises. I’m sort of the type to believe that you really only get a few major miracles in your life. My daughter is one…this looks like another. My remaining supply must surely be running low. So the week in the hospital in the PICU (progressive intensive care unit - I know - I had never heard of it either) was not fun. There were a few highlights - the cute EMT that the nurses called in from the hallway when they could not redo my IV after several attempts, the fact that I am the youngest patient (BY FAR!) on the unit. A particularly funny thing was my daughter enjoying playing “Connect the Bruises” on my stomach from my shots. I had great hopes those would get easier, but I’m sad to say they didn’t. But they worked, and that was the important part. They found no damage to my heart (think I probably should count that as a separate miracle, but prefer to count all of this as just one so that I don’t use up any more of my supply). Scans showed no other clots anywhere waiting to break loose and create more havoc. I had lots of visits from family, good friends and my colleagues at SLU. They brought flowers and had such nice things to say. It’s funny, I remember thinking that it was kind of like a funeral that I actually got to be there to enjoy! A morbid thought perhaps, but perhaps it was the fact that all of my docs, nurses and CNAs kept reminding me how lucky I was to be alive. Trust me…when someone tells you ‘You should have died’…you really only need to hear it once. Message delivered – I’ve got it. Move on. So I am on medical leave at the moment, but hope to be back at SLU soon. In the meantime, I am focusing on getting well, enjoying the little things in life, and being thankful for so many things. I can’t wait to get back on campus to catch up with everyone and to meet the amazing new students that are joining our community. This year may have its challenges, but I know it is going to be a great one! http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/08/a_rather_interesting_summer.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/08/a_rather_interesting_summer.html Fri, 15 Aug 2008 03:36:26 -0500 My favorite thing about spring is that it is such a great time to get outside and exercise. My exercise passion of choice (other than riding the whinnying critters) is to lace up the Nike Shox, click on the iPod and hit the pavement. I run mostly in my neighborhood, sometimes at Saint Leo and occasionally on a great paved bike trail up near my mom’s house about eight miles north of campus. Running is my therapy – it keeps me (semi-) sane and as the spring is my busiest time of year, anyone who has to work, live or interact with me is grateful for this habit. Being a very competitive person (would those of you who know me well and are reading this please stop chuckling and commenting about ‘the understatement of the century’, etc.), running is difficult for me. This is because – well I have to be honest – I am not very good. OK, let me be completely honest – I SUCK. Literally. That spring breeze you think you hear blowing through the trees is really me sucking wind. But as one of my running mentors once said – it doesn’t matter if you go a mile in 15 minutes or in 5…what matters is that you are out there. If you are out running regularly and working to improve – YOU ARE A RUNNER. I like his philosophy. It has managed to carry me through countless bouts of shin splints and a few cases of road rash. I mean, seriously…I am my mother’s daughter – neither of us would be considered graceful. Who am I to think I can run on a clear day and a level surface without incident? But we’ll get back to that. So the other best part about spring and getting out and running regularly again is the excitement of a race. Anyone who runs in Tampa has probably run in one of the Gasparilla races. I ran my first one in 2001. I was completely hooked and resolved to run a longer race by the end of the year. For most people that would be maybe a 10K or 15K. Not me. Being an overachiever, I decided to tackle a half-marathon in early December. It came, I ran, I bled, I finished and I cried. Yes, me. I RAN 13.1 MILES. But then asthma and allergy issues (not to mention semi-old age) kicked my tail and I quit running regularly. This spring I resolved to get back out there…and this time, I enlisted some additional help in the motivation department. My ‘trainer’ is my nine-year old daughter. She’s usually pretty sunny about the prospect of running with me, and there is nothing more motivational than your child blowing past you on a run. I mean, I just can’t let that happen!!!! It was depressing the first time it happened – now it just fires me up. So we decided to run this year’s Gasparilla 5K together. 'The Girls' after their Gasparilla 5K finish The training plan was put in to effect (Robert Ullrey’s Couch to 5K plan is a godsend – check it out on iTunes). We were ready…or so I thought. Now, I should tell you that Murphy’s Law was written about me and any/everything I touch. One evening I had to run without my daughter, so I took my 90 lb. black lab, Jazz (she’s a Hurricane Katrina survivor – 29 days on her own in the Lower 9th Ward, but that is another story entirely!). It was a beautiful evening and I was sucking less wind than usual, so I decided to push it a bit. BAD IDEA. Dusk had arrived and I couldn’t clearly see the pavement. More specifically, I couldn’t see the uneven patch in the pavement. Long story short. Toe of shoe met rise in pavement. Runner (me) collapses on top of unsuspecting Lab’s back. Lab determines she is being attacked by crazy person and yelps as if near death. Hilarity (not to mention a nicely twisted ankle) ensues. Did I mention that this is SIX DAYS BEFORE THE RACE? Ugh. OK, so we do the ice, elevate, etc. stuff and wrapped it. Pretty much just crossed my fingers til race day. The scene on race day - 15,000 runners! The big day arrived – RACE DAY. Beautiful weather – gorgeous scenery. For those who don’t know, the Gasparilla race route begins in the heart of downtown Tampa and then takes you along the top of Tampa Bay on scenic Bayshore Boulevard with its gorgeous bay views and multi-million dollar homes. My only complaint? The Bayshore resident who insists on sitting in his front yard along the route with a big ol’ honkin’ box of Dunkin Donuts. I mean, that is just CRUEL to the competitors. Of course the serious racers are moving too fast to read the letters on the box. I am NOT in that category, so I find it terribly unjust. So the bottom line is that I was able to run on race day, although my time was horrendous. Annie had a great time and seemed to just enjoy being part of the fun. The running gods were smiling upon me as we were in such a rush to drop our bags at runner’s storage and get our bibs pinned on that we forgot to put our timing chips on our shoes, therefore our terrible times (her time would have been fine, had she not been staying behind with her old, crippled ma) were not recorded for posterity and publication in The Tampa Tribune…at least we had the photos to prove we really did finish!!!! We got our finisher’s medals and headed out to enjoy the fitness expo. We met up with several of my Saint Leo colleagues who are ‘REAL runners’. Thankfully, none of them asked me about my finish time. BLESS THEM. But I am happy to report that I think my little one has caught the running bug! We’re both looking forward to another race later in the spring. Hopefully the wind sucking won’t be so bad by then… Stay tuned!!!! ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/02/lace_up_hit_the_road_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/02/lace_up_hit_the_road_1.html Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:52:58 -0500 Me with the girls...happily ensconced in our new office! So I left the files in the ‘hot’ box and spent some time carefully setting up the Dollies and my many pictures of family, friends and travel adventures in Africa… There. All done. Now I can get back to work…]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/01/back_on_campusback_to_normal.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/01/back_on_campusback_to_normal.html Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:50:43 -0500 Caty O'Donnell This past Sunday, we had to put our beloved Jack Russell terrier Caty to sleep. She was about to turn 15 years old. Right after Thanksgiving, we noticed a suspicious lump crop up on her back and of course took her to the vet. He was hopeful that it was a lipoma, and recommended that we remove it as soon as possible. She had the surgery just before Christmas, and it was very hard on her. But after the first week, she seemed to be feeling much better, and returned to her usual 'Jack Russell-ness' (any of you that have owned or been around a Jack Russell know that you can't help but laugh when the vet says, "You have to keep her quiet and still." Yeah. Right. NOT. Once her incisions began to heal, she was running around the farm, leaping on and off of things, chasing any and everything...acting like a puppy again. It seemed that taking the pressure off of her spine had restored her to her puppy-hood. The pathology report revealed very bad news. It was a very aggressive cancer known as hemangiosarcoma, and the prognosis was extremely poor. The vet advised against chemo at her advanced age, and assured us that the one bright spot was that the cancer was not particularly painful. He told us to expect 6 weeks to 3 months. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more like 4 weeks. The blessing was that she seemed to be feeling better and acting younger than she had in some time, and we had some wonderful time together over those last few weeks. Just as the vet told us, she would let us know when it was time. She did. We made that dreaded final trip to the vet, and then laid her to rest that afternoon on the farm. She had to be near the oak trees, but as it was her habit to find the one ray of light shining into the house to lie down in, we found the sunny opening between the shade of several oaks for her spot. Now I tell you all of this as it is part therapy, but partly because it brought me occasion to think of the wonderful animals that have shared my life. Honestly, that was the hardest part of going away to college for me - leaving my animals! I found a barn where I could ride within a week of arriving at college. I spent lots of time loving on their dogs while visiting there. I volunteered with a service group that took dogs from the local animal shelter to visit with senior citizens in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. I even took the opportunity to have my dog visit me for the weekend while I was away. Now, keep in mind that it took me 10 hours to drive home to pick him up and another 10 to take him back, but it was absolutely worth it. I was newly married and only about 18 months out of college when my mother called to tell me that our Bull Terrier (yes, Spuds McKenzie, Target dog, etc.) Hercules had to be put to sleep. Even though I was an adult, it was still impossible not to spend a few hours curled up crying like a child. Caty's loss was no easier for me. This friend was my baby before I had my daughter. Caty meets her baby sister Annelise, 1998 Because so many families end up buying pets when they deem their children are old enough to help care for them, the life cycle naturally means that many college students will end up facing the death of a beloved childhood friend, often while they are away from home. I can only hope that they are able to vividly recall wonderful memories with their four-legged friends and that it helps to get them through one of the hardest lessons of growing up. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/01/never_easy_to_say_goodbye_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/01/never_easy_to_say_goodbye_1.html Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:47:00 -0500 Well, I have had a wonderful but busy holiday. It's been full of family, friends, FOOD, fun, FOOD and oh yes, did I mention FOOD? The staff is all back to work here at SLU, but the faculty and students don't have to be back for a few more days. Consequently, the campus is pretty quiet - the calm before the storm! I'm sure that the returning students will be feeling just as I do - somewhat glad to get back to the structure of the day to day, but still longing for those few treasured mornings where I could sleep in! There will be some new students coming to start their careers here at SLU so for them this is a new beginning AND a new year. We will look forward to welcoming them to campus this weekend as they go through the Spring term orientation for new students. But although I enjoy being back here, it just isn't the same until the heartbeat of the university - our STUDENTS - set foot back on campus. THEN I can really get back to work, with the wonderful noise of Saint Leo all back to normal around me! http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/01/its_a_new_yearand_its_so_quiet.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/ChristyODonnell/2008/01/its_a_new_yearand_its_so_quiet.html Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:47:27 -0500