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Archive for the ‘Random’ Category

Mandolin range

Posted in Random, tagged , on March 25, 2010| 3 Comments »

In the midst of Eddie’s hospital drama, my niece sent me this photo:

Lt. Mark Greenlief, the executive officer for Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, takes a break from his duties in Marjah, Afghanistan, on Saturday, March 20, 2010, to play a mandolin sent to him by his in-laws in the United States. From http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/kabul/2010/03/scenes-from-marjah-madness.html#ixzz0jCO4p262

It totally made my day, because I am the in-law who sent it! Well, I sent it, and my dad donated it.

My dad met Mark at Thanksgiving, and they bonded over a shared love of music. So when Eddie and I started asking around about a ukulele, maybe, to send Mark in Afghanistan, my dad offered the mandolin that had been in my family forever. He played it, my mom played it, I played it, etc. A great idea!

I was worried about sending an antique instrument into combat, but I must have packed it up well enough for it to make it in one piece. YAY!

So that’s why I was so thrilled to see that photo. It made everything better this week.

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“Heart procedures” for $200

Posted in Random, tagged , on March 23, 2010| 1 Comment »

Being a “frequent flier” in Memorial’s heart wing has its perks. I was able to be in the room with Eddie while they prepped him for his ablation, and even take pictures.

Here he is in what he refers to as “The Matrix Room” with his new buddies, Robb and Cynthia.

Robb and Cynthia shooed me out right before the procedure began, and I hung out in the special waiting area. In a couple of hours, his doctor appeared to let me know the ablation was over, and was a success. They found the rogue spot quickly and zapped it. Then he said he poked around in there to see if he could get something else going. He did, and took care of that spot too. This should be it. Operative word: “should.”

Eddie is now resting comfortably to the sounds of the Braves vs. the Mets. You can see he doesn’t want anyone to take away his remote:

He might even get to go home by the time the game is over.

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I’ll take “heart procedures” for $100, Alex

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , on March 23, 2010| 1 Comment »

Memorial Health University Medical Center has Wi-Fi, which is quite nice. You would think all hospitals would have it, but you’d be wrong. Because of my mom, dad and Eddie, I’ve sampled many hospitals.

Anyway, thanks to Memorial’s Wi-Fi, I’m able to write and upload this post. Eddie is having his third, and last (I hope), cardiac ablation today.

What’s that? Well, it is a procedure where a cardiologist (as opposed to a dermatologist, or someone who stayed at a Holiday Inn) threads a catheter into the heart and burns the crap out of the part of the heart that is causing it to beat irregularly. Read this for a more technical overview.

Eddie has had this procedure twice already, so I don’t know how much non-scarred tissue there is left. After each ablation, the doctor has said, “That should do it.” And it hasn’t. Yes, we got a second opinion. The second doctor just wanted to keep shocking Eddie’s heart back into rhythm, all “ER” style.

Anyway, here we are, at Memorial again, and hoping for the best.

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Otherwise known as armor

Posted in Random, tagged , , on March 22, 2010| 2 Comments »

I present Dominic’s latest essay. Please ignore the pronoun mangling. He’s learning.

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Can’t we all just get along?: The Batman and Robin version

Posted in Random, tagged , , , on March 20, 2010| 4 Comments »

Dominic may look like Eddie, but he is totally my son on the inside. He asks a billion questions, likes to talk, gets obsessed with an idea and can’t let it rest, etc.

He is also a budding writer.

One of his favorite lessons at school is to tell a story to his teacher, who writes it down, then he illustrates the story.

It is a Montessori school, so his stories have a very polite angle. One could even say “anticlimactic.” See for yourself:

These are very different from the soap operas I wrote in high school (Kelly, you’ll remember those), but I love that he is a storyteller too.

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Nearly out to pasture

Posted in Random, tagged , , on March 19, 2010| 5 Comments »

Eddie looks like the picture of health: a tall, brawny, handsome rascal.

The truth is that he is a wreck. In the past five years, he’s had surgery on both his knees, his left shoulder, has endured bouts of plantar fasciitis, and had his nose fixed twice.

Then there’s his heart. Two years ago, he felt short of breath and went to the hospital. The doctor said, “atrial flutter,” got his heart back in rhythm and sent him on his merry way. Little did we know that was the beginning of a long road. Atrial fibrillation, then a couple of cardiac ablations, yada yada yada, and he’s back in the hospital.

Yep, I just “yadayada’d” over a couple of years of a lovely relationship with Dr. Jenkins, the cardiologist. Let’s put it this way: After each ablation, the doctor said Eddie wouldn’t have any more problems.

Last night, after basketball at open gym, Eddie was back at Memorial. And his third ablation is scheduled for Tuesday. Fun.

He’s going to be discharged soon. In the meantime, he’s having a fabulous time with his favorite adjudicator, Judge Mathis.

Here is my theory:

While he doesn’t experience atrial extravaganzas every time he plays basketball, every time the atrial business happens, it is after basketball. And all his ailments detailed above are basketball-related. So, I’m thinking he needs to limit his basketball intake to watching March Madness. Anyone with me?


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A new cast member?

Posted in Random, tagged , , on March 17, 2010| 7 Comments »

We went to visit my niece at Camp Lejeune last weekend, and came home with this:

"Mocha"

When my niece got pregnant, she found a new home for Mocha. But last week, the dog was back at her house thanks to the microchip. The new owners, who never changed the chip info, apparently let her get pregnant, took the puppies, and left Mocha on the side of the road.

Because my niece is about to give birth and already has a toddler — all while her marine husband is in Afghanistan — we decided to take the dog home with us and try to find a good home for her.

It is looking like that home may be ours. Someone stop me before I adopt again …

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Youth = gone

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2010| 4 Comments »

My transformation is now complete. I am now part of the “Mom” species. Yes, I know I have two kids and have been a mom for a while. But this week, I became a Mom with a capital M.

One of my students said about me, “She is like the cool mom.” And that aged me 10 years.

Then Dominic started soccer practice. And that added 10 more. I’m a freakin’ Soccer Mom. Feeling middle-aged and frumpy. How did this happen?

Soon, I’ll be shopping at JCPenney for Mom jeans. Thanks to SNL, I can show you what I mean.

The good news is that the boys love soccer. I’m happy because they’ll learn teamwork and get some exercise. Too bad the sand gnats like soccer practice too.

Dominic (blue shorts) learns fundamentals

Gideon's got mad skillz

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Support the troops. Here’s what.

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , , , on February 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

My niece, Nina, created a list of things soldiers need. For most of us in our comfortable homes in our comfortable lives, it is hard to image that the troops need such simple things. Get ye to Walgreens (I hear they give you a discount on purchases for soldiers)!

  • Robitussin (single dose, box of 10)
  • Hot hands (hand warmers)
  • Wisps (disposable tooth brushes)
  • Charmin travel rolls
  • Small compact mirror (for shaving)
  • Cough drops (with Vitamin C)
  • Protein bars (meal replacement)
  • Granola bars
  • Pop-Tarts
  • Mini bagels
  • Travel packs of tissue
s
  • Tuna in foil packaging (not canned)
  • SpaghettiOs, ravioli, etc., in pull-top containers
  • Instant mac and cheese
  • Ground coffee (Dunkin’ Donuts)
  • Pepto Bismol
  • Alka Seltzer
  • BC powder
  • Aleve
  • Immodium
  • Carmex lip balm
  • Medicated foot powder
  • Candy and gum
  • Ziploc bags
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sewing kits
  • Bengay
  • Beef jerky and summer sausage
  • Dried fruit
  • Gatorade or Propel (singles)
  • Instant drink mix
  • Eye drops
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Antibacterial wipes
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Trail mix
  • Deodorant
  • Mouthwash
  • Dental floss
  • Nail clippers
  • Socks
  • Dog food pouches (there are lots of stray dogs around)
  • Books and magazines

Remember: Happy and healthy troops can make progress and get home soon!

Lt. Mark Greenlief tries to make friends with the locals

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Support the troops. Here’s how.

Posted in Random, tagged , on February 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Now that I have your attention about supporting troops (I hope), here is what you can do:

Send packages and letters.

That’s it. It is easy! In fact, there are organizations that will do it for you.

Here is a list of Marines and Corpsmen in the Operation PAL program. Here is a list of thousands of soldiers in the armed forces in the Any Soldier program.

If you want to do more, you can organize a care package drive. This site tells you how.

You can do more. It is all up to you.

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