Monday Musings-January 4, 2010 (I'm Back)

Dear Carolina Panthers,


Where have you been hiding all season? Unfortunately, I was on the road during your big, heaping serving of "whoop-arse" to the Giants. 41-9? Wow! We were able to catch updates on ESPN radio and with Mr. Sister's many phone calls made during the game.


Yesterday's game was just as fun. Don't you just love being the "spoiler"? I know, the Saints will still have home field advantage during the playoffs but you just knocked them off their pedestal a wee bit. 


Matt Moore, it appears Jake has taught you well. Let's all hope that this momentum will carry on into next season. Here's to next year!


Your ardent fan,


Mrs. Sister

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Happy Birthday Bethany


15 years ago, December 28, 1994 to be exact, our lovely daughter decided to grace this world with her presence. Well, not by choice, anyway. Oh she was just a bit too comfortable hanging out in mommy's womb. Try as I might, nothing I did triggered labor. Mr. Sister was really wanting an early tax deduction so we selected this date as the day to get things rolling. 


Early Wednesday morning we showed up at the hospital and Dr. Jones "broke" my water. Did that start my contractions? NO! Bethany was content staying in her warm and cozy cocoon. After a couple of hours they decided to administer Pitocin. Pitocin is what is given to prompt contractions and make them stronger. Okay, so I now had really strong, painful contractions but Bethany, being true to her stubborn nature, stayed put. Now the battle was begun...the more they increased the dose of Pit, the more Bethany held her ground...and the more pain I felt (back labor is not for the faint of heart). Finally, my cervix began to ephase and I could receive the miracle of an epidural.  That anesthesiologist was my angel in disguise! It still took several more hours but finally, 12 hours from the time we arrived at the hospital, our beautiful girl was born. Mr. Sister got to hold her 1st, sing her her 1st song and give her her 1st kiss.


They eventually handed her to me when Mr. Sister finally relented. What a beautiful, perfect, little baby! But I was oh sooooo tired...could I just close my eyes for a little nap I asked the nurses. Unbeknownst to me, I was hemorrhaging. The nurses rushed Mr. Sister out of the room and sweet little Bethany to the nursery. I'm unsure if Mr. Sister realized the gravity of the situation at this point but he certainly did when he returned to the room to find me gone and the room awash in blood. They had taken me immediately to surgery. The doctors assumed the bleeding came from cervical tears. They fixed me up and wheeled me to the recovery room where the continued effects of the Pitocin was causing my whole lower body to perform the tango on its own. 


I continued to be weak and extremely fatigued. All the other new moms were bursting with energy and I was very jealous. When I was discharged home I still just wanted to sleep. I continued to seep blood over the course of the next couple of weeks. I was just going through the motions of new motherhood when I started to pass large clots of blood. I called the doctor's office but kept getting the "brush off". Finally, by week 4, one of the doctors agreed to see me. It was a rare, snowy NC day when I drove into Charlotte. They performed an ultrasound and found that there was a bit of retained placenta. Did they admit me? No. They sent me home on antibiotics. 


Now you have to understand. I was losing a lot of blood. Blood carries oxygen to the vital organs and my brain was not receiving the oxygen it needed to function properly so I didn't even think to question this decision. When I arrived home, nursed Bethany and put her down...I then hemorrhaged severely. It was like someone pulled the plug!  I was losing so much blood! I had the foresight to grab the phone, head to the bathroom, lay on the floor with my feet propped up on the tub and call 911. While passing in and out of consciousness I was also able to reach Mr. Sister (who beat the ambulance to our home, by the way) I had lost so much blood that my vascular system "collapsed" and the medics had an extremely difficult time starting an IV. I was in hypovolemic shock. When I arrived to the hospital my hemoglobin was found to be 4 (normal is > 12). I was rushed to surgery and  received several units of blood. When I woke up I was a whole new person! Oh the energy! I was more than ready to take on the responsibilities of parenthood! It truly was like coming out of the darkness into the light of day! 


So that, my friends, is the story of Bethany's birth. I was extremely blessed that she was such a good baby and didn't require too much from me those 1st few weeks. We have more than made up for it since!

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Update on Larry

As most of you know I spent all of last week in Topeka to help out my sister Carrie and her family. They gave Larry a "sedation holiday" last Monday. He never came around. It was decided to go ahead and "pull" the tube that was helping him to breathe on the ventilator. He continued to breathe on his own and he was moved to the palliative care floor. The following day, he was discharged to a hospice facility that was much more comfortable for him and his family. As of this writing, he is still hanging in there but his death is imminent. We are now praying for a peaceful death and for the comfort and care of his family during this difficult time. I hated to leave Carrie but I am the one who still has young kids that need to be in school. I hope and pray that I am able to return for the memorial service but don't know if that will be feasible. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your prayers, good thoughts, well wishes, words of encouragement, etc. You have been a God send for me and for my sister and her family. May God bless you all!