Long week and a half

It started on October 18th, my friend needing the liver transplant called, he was sick.  So, I took him to the emergency room. 12 hours later, he's been admitted and is settled in a room.  I go to visit at lunch the next day, and he is throwing up into a trash can while the nurse is telling him he is being dismissed.  I knew something was wrong and they just weren't seeing it.  So, I called his transplant coordinator who told us to get him to Emory.

So, off we go to Emory.  About 2 am, they tell us they are keeping him, and I head for home.  It's about a 2 hour drive, so I crawled into bed at 4 am.

It's now Thursday.  I go to visit my friend who is in a battle with a horrible disease.  So glad to get the chance to see her for a little while.  She was feeling like crap, but at least we had the chance to visit for a little while.

Friday night, the other friend is getting dismissed, so we get his mom and head out for Atlanta.  As soon as we got there, they tell us they just readmitted him.  So, we leave to get something to eat while his mom visits with him.  We found a great little restaurant near the hospital and had a really good meal. 

Turns out the friend has a partial bowel obstruction.

Saturday, we had a family get together for Chris's dad's birthday, then off to a party with the car club who held the benefit for my friend.

Sunday, I go to Emory to spend a few hours with him.

Monday, it's back to work.

Tuesday, he's having a really difficult time.  I go home and pack a small overnight bag and head for Emory.  I spend the night in a reclining chair so I can be there when the doctor rounds the next morning.  Once I have the chance to talk to them, and get him showered and settled, I head to home to get a shower and go to work.

I worked late on Wednesday to try to get caught up on a few things.

Thursday Chris had a procedure, once that was finished, I went to work. 

My other friend gets admitted to the hospital for a blood transfusion, so I go and spend some time with her.

Friday, the friend at Emory gets dismissed, so we head to Atlanta to pick him up.

I fell into bed as soon as I got home.

Chris says I'm not allowed to go anywhere today.  He says I need a day to be a couch potato.  He's right.  So, I'm sitting on the sofa, recounting this week.

We saw a lot of nurses this week, some of them went above and beyond and made some differences small and large.  Some of them, were sour and did the minimal amount they had to.  Sometimes nurses can't do anything to correct a medical problem, but they can show kindness and offer a caring touch.  For those who did provide that, I'm very thankful.  I wish I could remember all of their names, but the ones that stand out are Adrienne, Darlene and Lynn.

I am tired.

But, I am home, I am being a couch potato.  I just wish my two friends could be doing the same instead of fighting the tough battles that they are facing.

Sweet tooth

Something's got to give with this sweet tooth!  I did so well for 6 months on Weight Watchers, then I had my gallbladder out and I can't get enough sweet stuff to eat!  I've gone cupcake crazy.  Put a cookie in front of me and I pretend points don't matter for a few minutes!  I've managed to get off 3 of the 7 lbs I put on, but just not good enough!  And, if the cookies I just ate actually have points in them, I'm screwed for today.

The kindness of strangers

Strangers, you never really think that much about them, that is until something happens that makes you stop and ponder. Well, I did some pondering in the past week.  I have a dear friend who needs a liver transplant.  We need to raise some money for him for his account with the Georgia Transplant Foundation, they will match up to $10,000, so it's very important to raise $10K.

I was feeling sort of alone and overwhelmed with the prospect of where to start, because it was going to be up to me.

A friend of his is part of a classic car group.  They decided to do a fund raiser for him.  They held it last Saturday.  I was completely blown away.  So many people came out to give to someone they had never met.  I was choked up and just barely held the tears at bay all day.

Everyone I met was so friendly, and so enthusiastic about what they were doing.

At the end of the day, they had raised $4200.

We joined the club.  We want to give back.  Their monthly meeting was just 3 days after the fund raiser.  We went, and were just amazed at the energy and the ideas of this group of people. 

We've been living in this town for 4 years, and hadn't really met a lot of the residents, just our close neighbors, and a few people we knew from work, my hair dresser, and people working at the places we frequent - shopping and eating.  I feel like we have increased our circle of friends already.

Strangers no more...

AMC update

So I watched the end of AMC - what an awful ending.  That's all I've got to say about that...

All My Children

So, rewind to 1980.  We are moving back to Georgia - I had been practicing for months for choir tour.  My parents let me stay with Carmella, a friend from church, and her family until choir tour was over.  So, I got to live with them for a month.  During that month, school is out, so we're home during the day.  Carmella watched "All My Children" every day.  I couldn't help it, I got interested, even though I knew my parents wouldn't be thrilled about it.

Once I got home, I didn't watch it any longer.  Then, I move out of their house, and I have a VCR - so I start recording it.  I watched it on tapes for a few years.  And then, for some reason, I quit watching it regularly.  Every now and then, I'd catch up on it.

Then, the Soap Network was born - and I could watch it at night, so I did that for a while.

Seemed that every time I'd get back into it - Tad and Dixie had split up or were getting back together, Erica was marrying someone else or about to marry Jack again, Myrtle was still taking care of strays and giving them a place to live, Adam was still a jerk and Stuart was an angel, Angie and Jessie were on again, off again.  Then there was Brooke, and Opal and David and Greenlee and Kendall and Bianca and Joe and Ruth and Liza... and so many more.  I even remember Greg and Jenny.

Eventually, I just stopped watching altogether, I'm not really sure why, I just did.

A few weeks ago, I heard that it's ending it's 41 year run.  So, I started to record it again last week, so I could watch it up until the end. 

I've got two more days to watch, the finale was this past Friday.  I must admit, I got a little weepy.  And I recognized many of the flashback scenes they've shown.  I really expected them to do a little more in the way of flashbacks, but I guess they had to wind up story lines.

It's odd, even though I had stopped watching, it's just been there for most of my life.  I was 5 when the show first aired  (yes, you can do the math to figure out my age...), it was always there.  So, now that I know it's over, it's bummed me out a little bit.  Watching the episodes this past week made me realize that these characters have been part of my life for over 30 years.

I did just find out there is going to be an Internet version of the show, so maybe I'll check that out, but then again, maybe not.

And, while I'm typing this post, I hear that Desparate Housewives is having their final season this year... grrr.

And that's all I have to say about that

White after Labor Day?

It's after Labor Day, and I'm going to wear white again today. I never really care for certain fashion rules, and this is one of them.

I did however, mind about the guy who came to a business dinner at a very expensive restaurant dressed as if he were about to go to a big truck race. Have a little respect and at least TRY! And, at a minimum, take off your ball cap at the table! The meal sponsored by a company who makes an awesome product, and they invited some hospital staff. So, he was also representing his employer. Someone needs to give him a little lesson... Just saying.