(no subject)
I'm pretty sure I only ever update this when I have something bad to report, which is terrible. Let me start with some happy things instead:
- My adorable nephew has turned two and is, indeed, adorable.
He's in a truck and tractor stage right now, so he had a 'diggers and dumpers' party which was loads of fun. It involved a sandbox. Yes, we have almost the exact same color hair. If we go out minus my sister in law (as sometimes happens when my brother comes down on his day off while she's at work), people tend to think my brother and I are married and he's mine. Er.
That expression is irresistible. Those eyes are irresistible. His favorite thing to do is cuddle and read a book. I approve of this. He also talks up a storm and is the politest kid I think I've ever met (you ought to hear him say 'no thank you' or 'please' which is pronounced 'sss' with accompanying sign language). He's also ornery and has one wicked sense of humor, which makes him very fun to play with.
- We have hired another librarian in the general instruction/reference position, which will mean that 1) I will no longer be pulling 6+ hours at the reference desk in a day (this week for three days in a row) and 2) we can do some stuff we haven't been able to properly do before. I'm thrilled about the person we're hiring and cannot wait til she starts mid-June.
- Rob is in the process of a job hunt, which I am hoping and praying plops him in my lap in a permanent fashion by June.
- I'm headed to Texas for LOEX (a huge library and education conference) May 5, and it kills me that I'm going to be in the same state but still SO FAR AWAY. No state has any business being that big.
Now the unhappy things:
My dad is in the hospital again. It's wash, rinse, repeat: infection at his tube site settles into his blood, sends him septic, manifests as violent vomitting and shakes, high fevers. There's a middle-of-the-night emergency room run followed by the ambulance to Columbus. This time the infection was unrelated to a tube change and came seemingly out of nowhere.
In the short term, as always, it's manageable. They changed his tube a week early and pumped him full of antibiotics. He had a bit of a relapse after the change (which is worrying after two days of antibiotics - they're not sure how or why that happened), and will likely be in until tomorrow (the middle of the night ER run was Saturday/Sunday). But mostly he's doing fine.
In the long term, as always, it looks more dire. With every infection it becomes clearer that we're headed toward a second transplant. On the one hand, it's good that it's clear. It's easier on everyone's consciences I think. On the other hand-- well. 40/60. 54 years old in June. Potential complications. The press of depression and moodiness that sometimes erupts in panic attacks and other times drags into blank apathy. Strain and stress. Worry.
I don't really remember very much of this from when I was twelve. I don't remember most of that spring and summer at all. It's hard to watch my mom try to deal with this and my dad try not to. And it's a lot easier to believe your parents are immortal when you're twelve.
Next time I will try to stick to only happy things. Like maybe kittens. We do have some of those. I could take pictures.
- My adorable nephew has turned two and is, indeed, adorable.
He's in a truck and tractor stage right now, so he had a 'diggers and dumpers' party which was loads of fun. It involved a sandbox. Yes, we have almost the exact same color hair. If we go out minus my sister in law (as sometimes happens when my brother comes down on his day off while she's at work), people tend to think my brother and I are married and he's mine. Er.
That expression is irresistible. Those eyes are irresistible. His favorite thing to do is cuddle and read a book. I approve of this. He also talks up a storm and is the politest kid I think I've ever met (you ought to hear him say 'no thank you' or 'please' which is pronounced 'sss' with accompanying sign language). He's also ornery and has one wicked sense of humor, which makes him very fun to play with.
- We have hired another librarian in the general instruction/reference position, which will mean that 1) I will no longer be pulling 6+ hours at the reference desk in a day (this week for three days in a row) and 2) we can do some stuff we haven't been able to properly do before. I'm thrilled about the person we're hiring and cannot wait til she starts mid-June.
- Rob is in the process of a job hunt, which I am hoping and praying plops him in my lap in a permanent fashion by June.
- I'm headed to Texas for LOEX (a huge library and education conference) May 5, and it kills me that I'm going to be in the same state but still SO FAR AWAY. No state has any business being that big.
Now the unhappy things:
My dad is in the hospital again. It's wash, rinse, repeat: infection at his tube site settles into his blood, sends him septic, manifests as violent vomitting and shakes, high fevers. There's a middle-of-the-night emergency room run followed by the ambulance to Columbus. This time the infection was unrelated to a tube change and came seemingly out of nowhere.
In the short term, as always, it's manageable. They changed his tube a week early and pumped him full of antibiotics. He had a bit of a relapse after the change (which is worrying after two days of antibiotics - they're not sure how or why that happened), and will likely be in until tomorrow (the middle of the night ER run was Saturday/Sunday). But mostly he's doing fine.
In the long term, as always, it looks more dire. With every infection it becomes clearer that we're headed toward a second transplant. On the one hand, it's good that it's clear. It's easier on everyone's consciences I think. On the other hand-- well. 40/60. 54 years old in June. Potential complications. The press of depression and moodiness that sometimes erupts in panic attacks and other times drags into blank apathy. Strain and stress. Worry.
I don't really remember very much of this from when I was twelve. I don't remember most of that spring and summer at all. It's hard to watch my mom try to deal with this and my dad try not to. And it's a lot easier to believe your parents are immortal when you're twelve.
Next time I will try to stick to only happy things. Like maybe kittens. We do have some of those. I could take pictures.