Dear all –
An update, post-UK trip…
Primarily,
this is a confirmation that we (not
just I) survived!
The plane
rides were tough – particularly on the way there. I appreciated the distraction
of inflight movies/documentaries…and knowing that the experience was of limited
time. J It was wonderful to be able to go straight
from the airport to our friends’ home in Herne Hill, and then immediately
horizontal. (Did I mention that the 1st wkd we stayed with an
‘Emergency/Intensive care’ medic, and the 2nd wkd split b/n her and
a cardiologist & physio couple? We are blessed with so many medical friends
– and ones who are very generous in their care.) I slept much of the wkd,
whilst Greg visited with our friends, and then on Monday we travelled down to
Cambridge – early, so that I could sleep & recover some more, before the
conference began on Wednesday. Greg left me in the very capable hands of Ben K.
for a couple of days – Ben had come along specifically to help look after me,
and did a wonderful job! I should add too that the staff at Trinity Hall (7th
oldest Cambridge college, founded in 1350) – scouts & porters in partic –
were overwhelmingly kind and generous in making sure I was as comfortable as
possible, voluntarily bringing me iced water twice a day, helping Ben print
things for me, etc etc….really, they were amazing!
Wed was
fortunately a short day, conference-wise. It was so wonderful to see friends
& colleagues that sometimes I don’t see for years at a time. Already after
the first hour I was so very glad to be there. But I was also glad to go to bed
very early, and, throughout the conference, to be able to go back to my room
(only a few metres away from the lecture hall) for naps during the frequent
tea-breaks and meals – Ben faithfully wheeling me to & fro.
Thursday
was the big day: my keynote lecture first thing; then a couple of talks by
colleagues that I could not miss; then (after a long nap!) a punt ride on the
River Cam [long-promised to me by the president of the Society, a seasoned
Trinity Hall punter, if I actually succeeded in making it to the conf]; then
(after another long nap) High Dinner…not only my first full meal in a ‘normal’
chair since the surgery, but even for months before that.
And,
I
survived! The lecture went really well –
I dared to propose that biographical & cultural context could lend
significant insight to (and illuminate the cohesion in) the MacDonald book CS
Lewis claims ‘baptized his imagination’ – and attempted to show how. A lot of
folk pick up Phantastes b/c of CSL’s
claim, but everso many are stymied in their attempt to grasp (even, for many,
to enjoy) it. The whole difficult endeavour of the trip was made absolutely
worthwhile when fellow MacDonald scholars repeatedly came up afterwards to tell
me that I’d absolutely convinced them… that a text some had studied for decades,
but never ‘got’ as a whole, now made sense. Perhaps the greatest gift was when
a former – now retired – professor (the first to ever teach me GMD, and someone
I admire greatly), told me that she wished she could now teach the text again …
(Thank you
to the GMD Soc for daring to hold open that keynote slot for me, despite the
ambiguity over whether or not I’d actually be able to make it!)
The punt on
the Cam was incredibly lovely – for both the boating and the company (from two teens to a senior scholar, representing
England, Canada, USA, China, and Romania!) A cherished memory for us all…
And the
High Dinner was glorious. Truly fine dining, and very special company. Greg
arrived back in Cambridge in time (he’d been hiking in the Lake District with a
godson), and we were sequestered at the far end with a small group of, yes,
fellow scholars, but more importantly very dear life-friends. It was a
treasured gift.
I lingered
longer than I should have, of course…all too lovely! And then paid for it all the next day.
Friday was
very tough. It was hard for me, throughout, not to be able to visit with
friends, colleagues, even young scholars I’ve corresponded with over the years,
during the breaks and meal times – but I really did have to lie down at every
opportunity, and though I had desperately hoped for some engagement time on Friday, it just wasn’t possible. I even had
to miss out on a couple of papers. There may have even been a few tears of pain
and frustration as I tried to make my body start working in time to get to my
former supervisor’s opening (and brilliant!) paper. Friday was hard. But for all I couldn’t do (and focus after the opening paper was seriously
compromised), there remained the fact that I had made it and was there, and was
soooo grateful. I could not have done it without Greg, Ben, or Margie (a
friend who currently lives with us, and who gave a great paper!).
The
conference itself was a definite success. Solid papers; really good papers;
exciting papers! A grand combo/mix of keynotes. Keen discussion; collegiality;
the building of long-term relationships. It is brilliant to see/hear the work
that is being done in this rapidly growing field, with important knock-on
ramifications in many others. And it is invigorating that the material is so
often not merely academic, but actually stuff that can transform lives and
communities. And…the company is simply grand. Good folk end up working on,
wrestling with, GMD…
Friday
evening – after a delightful dinner (my second in a ‘normal’ chair!) with a
dear friend from Regent days who we see far too seldom (and who has foolishly
committed to speaking at a future Linlathen… Do beware being cornered by
invalids in person! J) – we headed back to London. Another wkd of
sleep, punctuated by visits with more wonderful godchildren and their families
(we somehow managed to visit with 4 godchildren!!) … and then,
the flight
home.
Survived,
and over with, and now several days gone by. Much more sleeping, and now we
begin to slowly ease back into old patterns. I’m still sleeping a lot, still
tire out incredibly quickly/easily, but I’m moving doggedly towards
pre-atlantoaxial-subluxation-me. It’ll still be a few months before RA drugs
fully kick in, some time yet before I can even resume the last of my RA meds,
let alone sit for any length of time at a keyboard to correspond, but we’re
getting there. And, with the help of many dear people, we did Cambridge!!
This is
probably (hopefully!) the penultimate entry on this blog…we’ll report back
after the mid-August x-ray & appointment, when we find out if the graft is
taking…and hopefully also the date on which I will be set free from my
not-very-summer-friendly 24/7 cervical collar!
Until then,
Huge thanks
and much love continuing,
kjj &
gj
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