Brain Injury

The word out of Arizona is that the assassination target from last weekend, Gabrielle Giffords, is doing miraculously well. Her neurosurgeon says she has "no right" to be doing so well, considering the extent of her injury. I have a little bit to say about that... *In July of 2007, I was visiting my sister in Springfield, IL. We had attended a dirt-track race that her grandson was driving in. When we got home, sometime around 10:30-11:00 PM, I poured myself a glass of wine and went downstairs to their computer room to check my email. By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs, I was aware of a horrible pressure/pain in the back of my head. I flushed hot. I turned on a fan and thought I'd just lie down on the floor...but I was also horribly nauseated. Had to get back up the stairs quickly before I threw up. And I did throw up! I threw up all night. My head hurt; my neck hurt; I was vomiting fairly nonstop. My sister wanted to take me to a doctor or the emergency room, but I didn't feel good enough to travel. She provided me with two ice packs--one for my forehead and one for my neck. I just thought I had picked up a bug. *By the next afternoon, I felt well enough to go to a prompt-med place at my sister's behest. The doc heard my symptoms, then sent me for a CAT scan at a hospital. In very short order, it was determined that I had a brain bleed from a ruptured aneurysm. I got a helicopter ride to Peoria, and a craniotomy to clip the bleeding blood vessel. *How did I survive? I have no clue! I was told, up front, that 60% of the people who have what I had don't even make it to the hospital. Another 20% survive, but with disabilities. I was one of the remaining 20% who survive without any problems. I would LIKE to attribute my survival to prayer, but the fact is that I was pretty much okay before the praying public even knew I was sick. Did my sister's ice packs help? I don't know... All I know is that I came out of that situation smelling like a rose, and a whole bunch of people were worried about me! (Apparently I did the right thing along about heart attack time, too. Ain't life fun?) *What I am saying is that Ms. Giffords isn't merely lucky. The hand of God is on her. If she survives, she will have challenges, but she will be alive. And if ANY of you think that you have any control over your lives at all, you are mistaken. Pray without ceasing. That doesn't mean that life will be perfect for you, but it does mean that you might have an edge to health and perfection before the devil knows you are a candidate!

Typical Sunday

I have done very little today. Got up in time to make it to church and Sunday school. One of the young female choir members on a riser just beneath the men all but passed out. I saw one of the men point to her. The next thing we knew, they were walking her out. She was on her feet but it looked like the men were doing most of the walking for her. One of the pastors went to minister to her. Turns out that she was having some kind of a blood sugar crash...and she's pregnant. She was okay, but went home. It was all handled very tastefully. I'm sure she was embarrassed but there was no need to feel that way! *My church does prayer blankets. If someone is in need of prayer, someone can order a blanket that is embroidered with a graphic and scripture of choice, then congregation members come up to place their hands on the blankets and pray over them. I always go up to pray over the blankets because my co-grandparents ordered one for me when I was recovering from brain surgery, and it meant so much. A blanket offered for prayer today made me cry. One of our members is a pediatrician who ordered a blanket for one of her 7-year-old patients who has an inoperable brain tumor. The child is not part of our congregation but Dr. Kinnamon is...and she felt the need to comfort the family in this way. It must be tough to deal with young ones who are so sick. God bless her for caring that much...and God bless the family that faces untold heartache in the months ahead. Every day of my life, I thank God that my own grandchildren (who are that age and near that age) are healthy. It is a gift that can change in a moment. So, I prayed over the blanket, then went back to the pew and wept. Again. *On my way to church this morning, I noticed that that the Public Library was registering 6 degrees on its display. Yesterday morning, it was 15 degrees...but today felt so much warmer. The difference was the lack of wind. We are expecting 2-4 inches of snow sometime tomorrow evening, I think. My radio club meets tomorrow evening. If the stuff is coming down, I won't go even though I am the club secretary. I'm a wimp. Just don't take the kinds of chances that I used to because there is no one here to rescue me. I have friends who are willing, of course, but they are all in the same situation as I--OLD AGE. It gets tough to adjust to not being able to do the things that used to be so easy!! *Travel is in my near future. Megan and Denis went out to see if they could spot whales on the coast today. I hope they did!

Busy Day

The sun shone brightly on Central Indiana today...but it was colder that a witch's you-know-what! I don't know which I hate more, the snow or the cold. Guess I shouldn't complain. South Bend, IN, got "3-4 feet" of lake effect snow today. We have maybe an inch on the ground. If winter comes, can spring be far behind? *I was on WIBC radio today. On Saturdays, they have a home and garden show to answer questions about...well...home and garden questions. I called in about my ball-shaped arbor vitae shrubs on the south end of the house. I basically got no information that would help at all! Oh well! *In the wee hours of the morning, my "nightlight" television started "pixelating"...and finally froze in a scrambled format. All of the TVs were affected, but the ones on the smaller digital boxes in the bedrooms were just frozen. After TWO calls to Comcast, we got it figured out, but I'm still not happy. Even after the fix, the TVs acted up. My TV reception has never been so bad as it has been since Comcast went digital. Ugh! *My daughter has been bugging me about going out to California without the grandchildren so we can explore places together. She JUST booked flights for her and hubby to be back here for spring break, and now has booked flights for me to fly to CA for a couple of weeks in February. As much as I enjoy being out there with them, I have to FLY to get there...and it is always somewhat unnerving. So much to take on faith when you're up in the air! *I worked on reclaiming the living room today after the Christmas Chaos. Got the carpet vacuumed and spot-cleaned. Moved some dust around. My little house looks nice when it's clean. Too bad it has to be so lonely here in order to look nice! *This afternoon, I went to a rehab/nursing home to visit one of my Sunday School classmates who has had both knees replaced. I honestly think he is ready and willing to be home, but there was a meeting of minds that determined they would keep him until the insurance quits on Thursday. He and his wife are good souls. I hope all goes well for them when he does get home. *After I left the rehab center, I stopped at the grocery store...then left for Danville, IN, for a benefit supper for one of my former students who has been in critical condition since sometime early in December after the birth of her second child. Apparently she has a blood clotting disorder called Disseminating Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) which caused bleeding and blood clots that prevent blood from circulating to vital organs. When I first heard of her situation (before Christmas) she was on a ventilator, heavily medicated with organs shutting down, and not expected to make it through the day. (I think she is in her late 20s.) In any case, she has been on a lot of prayer chains and is still alive but still in critical condition! Her newborn is at home waiting for her to get well, if she can. The benefit tonight was at the American Legion Post in Danville, and it was standing room only. I saw a lot of former students, a couple of co-workers from my school days, and ate some pretty good food. I have buried a number of students through the years from automobile accidents, suicides, and drug overdoses. Never had to give one up due to complications from childbirth... *I need to hit the sack. Stayed up to watch the Colts lose in the last three seconds of the game. Season over!

Uh...

When I posted on Wednesday, I forgot to mention that it was my father's birthday and my parents' anniversary. Unfortunately, the observations for both had to occur in Heaven because my folks have passed on...but I was sure thinking of them! *I am preparing a box of things to send to my daughter in California. Just some things that need to be THERE instead of HERE. *Colts playoff game is tomorrow. I'm trying to decide if I should have a gathering of friends for the game. Am I nuts?? Am still putting the house back together after the holidays... Decisions, decisions...

Bye-Bye Christmas

On Sunday, I got the boxes for the Christmas decorations out of the minibarn and onto the patio. Today, they have made it INSIDE the house. Slowly, slowly, the decorations are being put away for another year. I have eaten through MOST of the fattening leftovers in the refrigerator and have finally managed to get all of the Christmas serving dishes washed and put away. Taking things down always takes longer than putting them up. Have to make sure that breakable ornaments are protected and that non-breakable ones go together. Candles stay in the house so they won't be damaged by minibarn heat over the summer. Batteries come out of the electric things. Cloth items go in plastic tubs that are mouse-proof. None of what I have is precious, but some of it does have history. I do the best I can to preserve it from year to year. *I'll probably run out of steam before the day is over, but at least (for now) I'm going strong!

Marathon

Okay, so I have a lot to write. If you aren't interested in reading my family blatherings, log off! Once again, the system won't let me make paragraph breaks. (I need to figure out why!) Thus, there will be an * between paragraphs. *On Christmas Eve, I went to the 9:00 candlelight service, with a 25-piece orchestra and augmented choir. The music was exquisite, the service meaningful, and the message full of hope. I usually weep my way through the service, but this year, I didn't cry! What's up with that???? *On Christmas Day, my daughter and son-in-law (Megan and Denis) were due to arrive at Indy International 5-ish in the afternoon. The Internet is a wonderful thing! I could IM with Megan while waiting for their flight out of San Jose, CA...then could track their flight to Houston on the web. I then talked to her on IM again in Houston. Our last contact before they boarded for the flight for Indy was for her to call my cell phone when they got their baggage while I waited for them at the cell phone lot at the airport....but after they were in the air, I discovered that my cell phone wasn't working. Ugh! I panicked. Left her a message on HER cell phone that she should call me at the house when they landed, but I worried...then tracked their flight again. She got the message, but not until they already had baggage in hand. I launched for the airport and timed myself: 11 minutes from my front door to the terminal. Not bad! We ate some goulash that I had prepared, then got settled in. The children were to arrive 10-ish the next morning. *Megan got word via the children's father that they wanted a little more time because of a church service they wanted to attend before bringing the kiddos here. The delay gave me just enough time to get the children's rooms picked up after their last visit, get the turkey in the oven and the table set, etc. They got here a little after 1:00 PM. Then the fun began! Ryan went straight to my computer for his Spore game. Robin went to find her mother (who was in a back room drying her hair). We opened stockings and presents. There were Russian candies, cards, and stuffed cartoon toys from Denis's parents in Russia... and iPod Touches and games and watches and cash...and toys. (The kids got the iPod Touches. Thereafter, we usually only saw the tops of their heads!) We had a good time! *The next day or two, we had a major thaw. ALL of the snow that was on the ground melted away, thank God! I don't remember the whole litany of what happened on which day, but Megan and Denis took the children to the zoo on the last evening of Christmas at the Zoo in Indy. We played Clue and Monopoly. We ate well. We watched movies on TV and ate popcorn. The kids played with the neighbor children. And most of all, the kids played with their iPod Touches. Megan and I got some chances to talk. Denis did some work on his computer...and the techno-adults (not me!) determined that my router wasn't working correctly, so they went out and got a new one for my house! (Thanks Meg and Den!) *On New Year's Eve Day, little Ryan came down with a fever. He wasn't complaining of anything, but it was obvious that he wasn't up to speed. The worst part for him was that he couldn't play with his buddy next door. We got some children's Tylenol to help him get through the day...but he really didn't feel well. The night before, Meg and Denis had prepared some Olivier salad, which is a traditional food for the Russian new year. New Year's celebrations in Russia are bigger than Christmas. Their Christmas is on January 7th, but they don't give gifts for that...only for NY. Our plan here was to connect with his parents in Russia on Skype close to midnight there (4:00 PM our time), then connect again at our midnight (8:00 AM their time). It was pretty special. In Russia, it is traditional for the President to address the country just before midnight, then there are twelve bell tolls just before midnight. We drank champagne with Luda and Sergey via Skype...and again later that night. *We had our corned beef and cabbage dinner on New Year's Eve, since Megan and Denis were leaving very early on New Year's Day. Along about 9:00 PM, Judy and Phil (the other grandparents here in Plainfield) joined us for food (Olivier salad, shrimp and cocktail sauce, chips and dip, crackers and cheese...and a cake that Judy brought at my request--to die for!). We played a game of Clue, then reconnected with Russian on Skype, opened another bottle of champagne for a midnight toast. Grandpa Phil could talk to Grandma Luda in Russian. (He was apologetic about how poor his Russian was, but I was impressed...and so was Luda!) In the meantime, it was so warm outside that I had the back door open in order to dissipate some of the heat in the kitchen...then a thunderstorm hit with a lightning strike so close that there was a very noticeable POP just outside in the back. (We had fireworks to light off, but the thunderstorm upstaged that.) Phil and Judy left at about 12:30 AM; the children and I went to bed, but Megan and Denis never did. *At about 4:30 AM, Meg woke me up so we could take them to the airport. We plunked the children in the car in their jammies and headed out in the rain. By 5:00, the kids were back in bed and asleep. I stayed up long enough to see Meg and Denis board their flight...then took a nap. I woke up just as they were landing in Denver. Unfortunately, they were delayed about five hours in Denver, awaiting a connecting flight. That day, I took the kids to McD's for lunch, then Grandma Judy and I took the children to see "Tangled" at The Rave in Plainfield. (Great flick! If you haven't seen it, you really must!) Ryan still had a fever but didn't feel bad enough to stay home. When I determined that Megan and Denis were home safely in California, I could go to bed. Mommies never stop worrying! *Yesterday, (January 2nd), the grandchildren and I went over to the other grandparents' for their family Christmas luncheon with their father and step-mother. I was included. Nathan and Kendra (my former son-in-law and his wife) gave me a lovely card that made me cry...and the children enjoyed their visit. I came home and the rest of them left for northern Illinois. And that was that. *There is no such thing as a good divorce. My grandchildren have been through a lot in their young lives over the last few years, but I am so very proud that most of us have been able to put aside our concerns in favor of making things work for the grandchildren. Praise be to God, my former son-in-law's parents can come here and break bread with my daughter and her new husband, and I can rub elbows with my former son-in-law's family and his new wife...and her family. The grand recipients of all of this are the children. They didn't ask for what they got, but at least they know we are all here for them! *My daughter has had a health scare. I don't think things are bad, but she has been frightened by it all, as are we all when things feel out of control. It was probably good for her to be here in the cold Midwest for a few days. Now the real work begins. Please pray for Megan as she seeks ways to feel good again. *I had a great holiday week! It was wonderful to have all of my chicks back in my nest. I'm not sure how poor Denis felt about being trapped in a small house with the chaos that comes with kids, but he didn't seem too put out. Denis is a very patient, soft-spoken person. He plays games with a vengeance! *Oh...here's a funny. There is a game on Ryan's iPod called Moron Test. Every time he played it, he kept getting the "fail" notice. Finally, Denis asked him if he had passed the moron test yet. Ry said, "No! It's too hard!" Ha!

Long Time

I haven't posted on here since Christmas Eve...but so much has happened since then! You will have to forgive me, however, because I am too tired to write. Tomorrow, I will update the blog for those of you who might actually care! Tomorrow!