17 weeks, 6 days

The injury happened about 3 weeks before the European honeymoon. Cancelling was not an option.

We endured the cramping of a 10 hour plane ride to another continent. Climbed up to the Acropolis in Athens and walked the mile-long fortified wall that surrounds the old town core of Dubrovnik -- all with the help of handy-dandy crutches.

There was no stopping us. The crutches even followed us onto the black beaches of Santorini. I can still shake sand out of them...

It was sometimes hard not to trip people as we made our way through the hordes of tourists. But that's a story for another day.

Mireille can't really complain because she got prime seating in Rome's famous Sistine Chapel and one of very few chairs in the House of the Virgin Mary on the way to Ephesus, Turkey.

It's in this House, or small chapel, that I got approached by the nun.

"Can I give you this?", she said. Of course! Who doesn't like gifts?

It was a small pendant of none other than the Virgin Mary. Mireille considers herself to be a very spiritual person, and although she doesn't actively participate in organized religion, she thought it was a sweet gesture.

She immediately began wearing it and never took it off for about 11 months. The only time it left her neck was on surgery day. It was with us during a lot of rough moments.

But this past week, it was put away for good. It's time to let go of the crutches -- the handy-dandy but cumbersome ones, and the simple but powerful ones.

It's time to complete this process on our own.