I can't wait!

Finally, the new season of Amazing Race starts tonight. It has been too long.

I do believe in miracles

One thing I haven't written about was my step-father's mother, Mimi (not to be confused with my cousin Mimi).

Mimi hasn't been doing well. She fell at her nursing home and hit her head which caused internal bleeding. I think the official diagnosis was a head contusion. Even though surgery was performed, she showed no signs of improvement. In fact, as the days passed, her condition deteriorated to the point that hospice was called and preliminary funeral arrangements were made. Her family decided to move her to a nursing home in Lacombe under the care of hospice to live out the rest of her days.

Last Saturday, as my husband called our church, Aldersgare Methodist Church, to update them on my grandmother's condition, he also added Mimi to our church's prayer list. Aldersgate has a wonderful care team whose job is to continually pray for those in need.

Last night, my stepdad told me that Mimi has made a miraculous recovery. She is sitting up and holding conversations with people. She is even better than before she fell. Her condition has improved 180 degrees and hospice has been cancelled.

It is in times of difficulty that I find my strength in my faith. I may not understand how or why God chooses to do these things, but I find peace and comfort in knowing that he will always answer prayers. We are blessed.

An interesting conversation with Georgie

So the other day, as I was typing up something on the computer, my 5 year-old, Georgie starts up a conversation with me. It went something like this:


Georgie: Mommy, are we going to church today?
Me: Uh, yeah, probably.
Georgie: Jacob (my 7 year-old) is not going to be happy.
Me: What?
Georgie: Watch this. HEY, JACOB, WE'RE GOING TO CHURCH TODAY!!!
Jacob (from far off at the back of the house): Ah, man! I don't want to go to church! I just want to stay here and play football! DAAAAAAADDDDDYYYYY!

While Jacob continued to yell in the background, Georgie turned to me and said, "See, I told ya."

5 years ago yesterday

I can't believe that it has been 5 years since our daughter Georgie made her entrance into the world. Of course, even as I write this, I must admit that I can't remember life without her. She has the most infectious love of life and the best sense of humor. These last 5 years have been unbelievably special and I look forward to watching her develop and grow even more. We are truly blessed. Happy Birthday, Georgie.

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Not what we hoped

Grandma had her surgery yesterday and, as the title states, it did not go as we had hoped. We knew that she had a colonic obstruction, but we didn't know what we causing it. The CAT scan revealed very little and since she has diverticulits, the doctors assumed that it was scar tissue. Unfortunately, when the surgeon opened the abdomen, he found that, although she had a hysterectomy when she was 50, they didn't remove her ovaries and they are now riddled with tumors. It looks like she has Stage 4 ovarian cancer. Now we have to meet with the oncologist to discuss any possible treatment and her prognosis.

I Say a Little Prayer for You

Today is the day that my family has been waiting for - Grandma has her much needed surgery. To say that the experience at Northshore has been frustrating is an huge understatment. Sometimes I really question the knowledge of so-called "medical professionals." I will have to leave it at that because to get into it here will only cause my heartburn to return and my blood pressure to spike.

So please, if anyone reads this today, say a quick prayer for my Grandma. Thanks.

Life in the ICU

This week has been bittersweet.

Bitter because I have spent much of it sitting in the ICU waiting room while my grandma underwent tests after having a seizure Monday morning. Luckily she was already in the hospital when her blood pressure spiked, causing the seizure. Initially she was there because of severe dehydration from some mysterious cause. After much frustration, the hospital finally did the correct tests and found that she has an obstruction in her colon. This is actually good news because it means that she did not have another stroke and, hopefully, she can be treated and sent home soon.

The sweet part of the week came as family gathered to await the news of grandma's health and for the occasional visit. It got to visit with cousins that I haven't seen in a while and with my Uncle Clayton that I haven't seen in two long years. It made me realize how much I miss not seeing my family on a regular basis like we did when I was younger.

There are nine of us grand kids and, as Jim describes it, we have a very "social sense of humor" -meaning that when we get together, our senses of humor take on a very quirky, cliquish edge. Even our parents think it's weird and offbeat (except Uncle Clayton - I think that is where we all developed it. Maybe it's God sense of humor showing itself). Even in situations that are depressing or serious, if three or more of the "kids" get together, we will find something to laugh about. And grandma in ICU was no different.

It happened when Patrick and Brandon, who are 22 and 26 year old brothers, went into grandma's room to visit. As they were leaving, grandma, in her hospital daze, told Patrick, "Do what needs to be done." After thinking about this for a short time, Patrick, now back in the waiting room, turned to Brandon and asked if he heard grandma correctly. After telling us what grandma said, I asked if she kissed his cheek when she said it. We came to the conclusion that she meant either (1) water her plants or (2) settle the family vendetta. I'm sure you've all heard tales of how vengeful those Nova Scotians are. I mean it's practically legendary.

Well, at least we lightened the mood for a little while.

A new direction

It has been a long time since I have written. Even though I still love the political world, writing about it become somewhat repetitive. That being said, I decided to take this blog in a new direction.

I decided to turn this into a daily life blog. A place where I can write about the goings on in my family, my observations about life and anything else that I want to write about. So feel free to stop in whenever you want or leave a comment or two. This will be a nice way to stay in touch with family and friends that are now scattered around the country.