Warning: Not for the Squeemish But Good News

Since our beautiful snow fall Monday last, I've been wrestling with what started out as a horrible cold and morphed quickly into something more sinister. I am now going on Day 5 or 6 of this malady. I keep telling Dear Husband that it's the H1N1 because the doc's office says it could be due to the respiratory nature of the dang ailment; he is not buying it. He says it's my annual "really bad cold" but I'm not convinced. I am hoping that yesterday was the worst day thus far and perhaps I have turned a corner!

The worst part is that I have been unable to visit our niece, who had major brain surgery on Wednesday. At least I was at the hospital and got to see her as they wheeled her into the OR. Lucky for me that one of our dear friends (pictured above with his wife, a very special woman and friend, in Rome this year) works as a surgical nurse at the hospital where the surgery was done. He called me on my cell phone as I was pulling into the garage near the hospital and told me that they would "hold" her for three minutes so I could see her before her surgery. How kind of him! Yes, when I arrived, there were what seemed like hundreds of people (maybe only 15) standing around, our niece on a gurney, and a doctor clearly wanting to get the show-on-the-road. I gave Alicia a big hug, told her I loved her, and then said, "Let's roll!" - off she went. About 6 hours later, her neurosurgeon and neurologist met with us to tell us how the surgery went. Fortunately, he was able to remove the portion of her brain that was the source of her epilepsy, but not so much that she will have serious cognitive side effects.

The bad news - poor child - is that she is in serious head pain, everything tastes like metal to her, and she is very anxious to go home. She misses her friends and can't stand being in the hospital. On the "good news" side, our niece is talking, eating, and even walked down the hospital corridor yesterday. But, the pain issue is significant and will prove the most problematic for her recovery. I wish more than anything that I could take this pain away from her, but we knew going in that this could happen - and thus it has. She is getting pain medication, but there is only so much that she can be given. Hopefully, as she continues to recover, the pain will lessen.

Thanks so much to our friend, Carroll, and his wife, Lori, for being such wonderful, caring and sensitive human beings. Carroll visited with me during the surgery and took time out of his duties to keep an eye on our niece. What a remarkable human being. I am so grateful to him and don't think he will ever truly know how much we all appreciated his kindness and concern. I feel like Alicia got the "royal treatment" because he was there.

On Friday, I missed the annual cookie exchange at our skating rink. I felt very sad because I started this tradition some 11 years ago and this is the first year I couldn't be there. Dear Husband was kind enough to take all the supplies to the rink for me, so I feel as though I did something for the event, but truly missed seeing my skating buddies (like my BSB) and coaches who mean so much to me. My BSB was kind enough to get things set up and then called me on her way home to let me know that things went well. I was pretty zoned on cold medicine when she called, but appreciated hearing how things went. Since then, I have received posts from skaters and Coach J who attended the event letting me know that it was very nice. That said, I do sense that I let some people down by not being there, but I was not going to be selfish and get everyone else sick, espeically during the holiday season.

Dear Husband bought me a new Janome sewing machine for Christmas. It's the "ThreadBangerTB30" model. It's computerized, with 20+ stitch selections, and very cool. I think the name is too silly for words, but the online reviews were excellent. He is such a great guy, that husband of mine! I cannot wait to open it on Christmas Day.

So that's it for now. My new SP Teri's boots are still in their box. Perhaps I will get them on the my feet and on the ice soon. In the meantime, "Onward" with gratitude, appreciation, and a sincere desire to get well soon!