I was asked the infamous two questions about a bajillion times yesterday that I got fed up and started weaving ludicrous stories leading to my injury. The stories ranged from stuck kitties in trees, invading alien worms, stopping supermarket robberies, rampant dinosaurs/sabretooth tigers, and the ever escalating conflict between pirates and ninjas.

I arrived way ahead of schedule because I was getting a ride with my friend working at the tournament. The venue supervisor told me that she was getting a wheelchair for me, which was a surprise because I was told I wouldn't get a wheelchair. This was exciting because I didn't feel confident in my rolling chair method. I saw that I was given a transport wheelchair instead of a standard wheelchair, meaning that I could not wheel myself with my arms. It was a bummer that I could not wheel myself, but it was actually a blessing in disguise.

Many people came to my assistance if I sat looking helpless for a while. Even the Paraolympian, sporting his nifty Beijing warmups wheeled me around. How funny is that? The host team was of great assistance, as they were always willing to help me out if asked. I felt pretty pampered, and I'm sure that was the consensus. Whatever, I'm going to milk it as much as possible!!

Reffing wasn't as bad, as I reffed epee only and didn't really move much. One of the fencers was really helpful, offering to push me around. I also requested that the fencers kneel while checking tips and shims. One girl commented about this being the first time she had to kneel for her weapon to be checked.

The tournament gave me a chance to talk to my friends again, to see them in person and to catch up. I definitely missed seeing them. For some, it was validation that I actually did get injured rather than me confabulating the whole affair as another excuse to take a vacation. But seeing them again was assuring.