Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The pen that saved my GPA while chemotheraphy was saving my Mom.

My mom has cancer.  Her diagnosis came September 15, 2011 with few symptoms, although it had been working on her for awhile.  She became very sick very fast.  Ovarian cancer is nearly symptom-free until Stage III at which point you're in pretty big trouble.  Mom was Stage III.  It took about 2 months of chemotherapy for her to be able to get out of bed;  she has been improving ever since.  She's having surgery on January 19th.  (For those among you reading this who may be my professors, I'll be out of class that day.)  After surgery she'll tough out four more months of chemotherapy and then, we hope, cure.  For Christmas I bought us tickets to go see Wicked in NYC next Fall.  Positive thinking works.

When my Mom was first diagnosed I was sure I would have to quit school.  I really didn't know what to do.  I was very stressed, and even more distracted.  I had 7 classes, including Civil Lit 2 which is a challenging class that ends with a mock trial.  I had a crazy client to zealously represent;  there was no room for distraction.  I decided to take a "wait and see" position on school.  I could always drop later, and take incompletes if I had to.

The point of this post isn't to bum you out;  it's actually to tell you how I managed to get through the semester while the universe was testing my resolve;  it's called a Livescribe Echo Pen.  I have been using it since I started school, but it became a dependable friend last semester.  The Pen uses special spiral notebooks that have a nearly invisible dot pattern on them.  It is really a standalone computer programmed to recognize the dots on the paper which causes it to actually take little videos of what you write or draw.  If you want it to, you can also turn on the actual audio recorder.  If you do this, then it records not just what it wrote, but also everything it hears.  After class, you go back to your home computer and plug in your Pen.  Everything the Pen recorded will transfer to your own computer. The written notes are saved as printable, shareable PDFs.  When studying, the Pen will allow you to tap on a word in your notebook causing the playback of that exact moment in the lecture, meeting etc.  It's great if you can't read your own writing!   My Livescribe Pen recorded all class lectures, which I then put on my iPod, so I could listen in the car, at the hospital, in the chemo room..... wherever.  I ended the semester with my 4.0 in tact.

The Livescribe Echo Pen is reasonably priced starting at $99.  (I checked Amazon and the prices are about the same)  They come in 2, 4 or 8 gigabyte.  I use a 2GB which is the cheap model and it's amazing.  You do have to buy the notebooks separately, but they are priced fairly considering how thick they are.  I have used the same four spirals for two years at school.  I simply added dividers to separate the classes.  Very helpful for future reference, since I plan on keeping these notebooks to study for the state exam as well as a reference in my career.  When my Livescribe Pen bites the dust, I will invest in another one. Whether you're a new student, nearly done, or in the work force, this is a great product.  I don't get a kickback for purchases made as a result of my endorsement;  but I should.

Thoughts and prayers for my Mom are appreciated.

Lynne
The Paralegal Student

2 comments:

  1. I'm keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

    Great post about the Livescribe; I've heard other paralegals swear by them.

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  2. I really hadn't known about this product until I read your blog that I found through LinkedIN. Very interesting.

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