Some people are really private about their medical stuff, but I'm not; I don't really care who knows stuff.  Of course, my situation isn't precarious, or embarrassing...  If it was, I'm sure I'd be as hush-hush as anyone else...

Anyway, yesterday I went in for an update with Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.  My aneurysm surgeries were a year and 4 months ago.  The horrible radiation burn scar on my abdomen is what prompted me to go in (it's been bothering me a lot), but it was time for a check anyway.  I had a chest X-ray, as I'm prone to lung cancer because of the radiation and they wanted to make sure I was fine, then I saw the neurosurgeon (who is the bee's knees, as far as I'm concerned) who spent a good 20 min. with me discussing anything and everything I wanted to discuss.  It was great - I got a lot of questions answered and he was very interested in my scar, as the procedures he did were unprecedented and he is really interested in my case.  (He said a couple of times, "Your case was very difficult.  Very, very difficult.")  I then saw the dermatologist, another bee's knees kind of guy.  (I loooooove my Mayo doctors - who could be more caring and gentle then these guys??)

The dermatologist obviously has seen more than a few bad skin things, but I could tell he was trying not to react when he saw my scar.  After all, it is bad... It's about the size of the palm of my hand,  has a rainbow of colors to it, swirly designs, polka dots, and is almost perfectly in the shape of a square!  He, the Mayo Clinic Specialist, had to admit he wasn't sure what to do about it.  It was adhering down to the tissue under it, sort of stuck to my ribs, and because it is so large, simple scar mobilizations won't do the trick (I tried already...).  So, as previous, a train of Dermatologists and I'm sure, Dermatology Interns and students, paraded in and out of my room, examining my anomalies (and enjoying comparing the scar on my abdomen to the healed ones on my low back and right waistline - well, where my waistline would be if I HAD a waistline...).  They all, as previous, stood in the hallway afterward in a huddle to discuss my care.  LOL  (So cute.)

In the end, all the doc did was give me a high-powered steroid cream to try and thin the skin (though certain areas on the scar often tear, as the "skin" is so thin and delicate).  He talked of injecting some of the same into the scar directly, but not yet.  He referred me to Plastic Surgery to see if they could do anything, like cut the scar completely out (YIKES!) and do a skin graft.  I have another appt. in mid-April. 

So we'll see!!  But that's the update of what happened yesterday.

(You want to see a picture of it, don't you??  LOL)

 In a word...  No. 

We started Bark Therapy a few months ago in an attempt (at Cesar Milan's urging) to get Mary to SHUT the barking UP!  My sweet little Mary is a bit of a yapper, and we were desperate to try whatever it took.  No WAY am I getting rid of this darling little dog because she barks, and removing her larynx is not an option, so we tried Bark Therapy.

It was a failure.
                             
Okay, let me backtrack.  It was a failure in that Mary still yaps way too much.  I honestly think that if she was walked twice a day, everyday, it actually WOULD help.  But she's lucky she gets 3 times a week, so I suppose it's not 100% her fault.  But that's as good as it gets, baby.

                           

On the other hand, Bark Therapy has been a raging success, in that I LOVE IT!!  There's nothing like walking (while trying to ignore the cars whizzing by) in total safety over a bridge over a BEAUTIFUL river with the cool (it's February) wind blowing either in my face or at my back, looking at the gorgeous views, watching for dolphins, or watching pelicans fish (I loooove pelicans!)  with others who are out enjoying what I'm enjoying.  Mary behaves beautifully (unless she sees another dog), and it's simply Heaven.  Usually by the time I'm out there, the sun is setting, and that makes it even more heavenly.  I have increased my endurance quite a bit, and can now walk over and back twice without stopping or usually without even breathing hard!  It's 3 miles total on 2 laps.  I'm VERY proud of myself! 


So while Mary still barks WAY too much, Bark Therapy has done ME more good than HER, although it is good for her too, and she loves it more than anything other than cuddling with me under the covers on a cool night.  :o)

I've been away from blogging for almost 3 months now, and there's lots to say, but tonight something happened that trumped all the other news... ERIK TALKED!!!  Okay, let me backtrack... for as desperate as I've been for him to say ANYTHING, I'm considering this talking...!!  Okay, the story:

Tonight, I was giving Erik a shower - one of his faaaavorite things.  I stood there holding the hand-held shower thingie and I said, "Erik, this is a bath.  Buh, buh, buh.  Say 'buh, buh, buh'".  Nothing.  I tried again, and again, and again, and eventually he actually said, "buhbuhbuhbuhbuh"!!!!  Boy, did he get his reward - I sprayed him all over and he screamed in delight!  So I tried again, "Buh, buh, buh".  "Buh, buh, buh".  "Buh, buh, buh" and just as I thought it was all a fluke, he did it again!!!  "buhbuhbuhbuhbuh!!"  Again with the spray!!  We did it again and again until the last couple of times he did it all by himself without any cueing at all!!! 

ERIK ACTUALLY USED A DELIBERATE SOUND TO GO WITH A WORD!!! 

OH, HAPPY DAY!!!!

I can't wait for his next shower!!!

18 years ago today, a couple, Tatiana and Namik, had a baby.  From all I know, this was their first child.  No doubt they were happily anticipating the birth of their new son, but when he finally arrived, they realized that they had no chance of raising him in their country, because he was born just a little bit different from the rest.  Prejudices run high in their country and this child would never be accepted as he was, so they made the excrutiating decision to have him placed for adoption. 

This adorable little bundle (don't you just want to scoop him up and kiss his cheeks?) waited for 5 years in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere (quite literally!) until God grabbed a woman in the United States by the collar and took her to his country and she adopted him.  What a BLESSING this little boy turned out to be!!  God certainly knew what He was doing!

It's no secret who I like in this presidential election - moreso who I DON'T like - so if you don't want to hear the man's name mentioned and good things said, then politely move on.  This is my blog and I'll say it how I want to say it.  pppttthhhhh!!!! 

Yesterday, Reese, Erik and I made the 90 min. trip to Apopka, FL (maybe it was quicker than that) to join in at a Mitt Romney event.  After seeing what has happened to our beloved country over the past 4 years, Reese (who gets to graduate the DAY AFTER he turns 18!!) and I are quite involved politically this year, trying to get our Marxist president out of office.  So we happily traveled to central FL to see his opponent.

Apparently, not a fan of Mitt Romney rallies!  LOL

From the beginning, we could see that the venue was poooooorly organized.  There was no provision made for disabled guests and no one seemed to have any idea what to do with a disabled guest.  Reese's leg is not fitting right so walking was really painful for him and he couldn't stand long or walk far - he needed assistance.  We finally made it to the amphitheater (which was quite nice but not nearly big enough for all of the people who showed up - it was packed!) to find that there was no "handicapped section" at all.  There were so many people standing that we couldn't see a thing, and Reese needed to sit on the grass.  Yeah, right.  Erik's nerves by now were shot (it was quite a story how we even GOT to the venue, but I'll save that story for another day), and he needed a seat, too.  No one was allowed to bring folding chairs, either, so everyone who wanted to sit, had to sit on the ground, cause ALL the seats were taken.  Sorry, but that was not good enough for this mama.  I asked this person, and that person, and that person over there, if there were ANY seats available for the disabled, as my son simply couldn't stand on the grass all the time to watch the event.  No one had any idea.  So, I kept asking.  Finally, I asked a couple of policemen.  They got a look at Reese's legs and you could see in their eyes that they wanted to help.  They asked us to wait while they checked on something (good thing we arrived 2 hours early!!).  When they came back, they led us down to the VIP area, and after they talked with this person with plugs in their ears, and that person with fancy looking badges and credentials, they led us to the FRONT ROW.  The "orange wristband" section!  We could NOT believe it.  We were warned, however, that they may have to move us, if more "real" VIP's showed up, so we didn't get too comfortable until the Mayor of Apopka (I figured out from eavesdropping) sat down next to me (and Erik, who was on my lap) and I figured we were safe.  We saw Sandy Adams, our area's House of Representatives person (we met her this summer in D.C. you may remember), on the same row as us, about 10 seats down, and I have no idea who else was surrounding us.  Reese and I kept sneaking looks at each other like, "I can't believe this!!". 

The stage, from our vantage point.

A coooool picture of the sky.  You can see the press box at the bottom.  There is square light that you can see.  You can see a man looking down at the bottom right of the light - that's Carl Cameron (or "Campaign Carl") from Fox News.

Erik was on my lap, which was fine, except that being soooooo close to the stage, we were also sooooooo close to these ENORMOUS speakers and if you know Erik, you know how much he hates loud noises!  Uh, oh!!  I had a moment of panic before I realized that he was perfectly content as long as I covered his ears with my hands, which I gratefully did.  WHEW!!  Eventually, he got used to the cheering and screaming, and the sign waving and the clapping, and I was SHOCKED that he never cried, or screamed, or bit himself, although after a while he did kick the mayor...  (he was pretzeled on my lap, trying to rest (it was getting really late) and his leg shot out and kicked the 80-something mayor.  I apologized and he was very good-natured about it and said that his granddaughter has Down Syndrome!  After that, he and I were bosom buddies.  ;o) 
Anyway, finally the speeches began.  Artur Davis was one of the first - I love that guy! - and that was fun. 

Artur Davis

  
He was followed by Andy Somebody (sorry, Mr. Somebody - I can't think of your last name at this time!) who was a Congressman or something (obviously, I'm not too familiar with him).  And he was followed by Connie Mack, running against Bill Nelson for FL senate, and then what everyone was waiting for - the Romneys!  Man, the crowd went nuts and I am still in shock that Erik handled it.  I instantly liked these people.  Ann gave a speech and she was so cute - the podium was too high for her - she couldn't see - so instead of asking for help, she simply stood on her toes the whole time.  No complaints!  Shocking to see such realism from someone who could be so important!!  Oh - did I mention she was in high heels already?? 

Ann, on her tiptoes

After she was done, Mitt came out.  He gave his speech which was terrific, of course, though not a whole lot of new stuff (you really can't give a new speech every time when you are giving a couple of speeches a day!) but it was fun, cause he said stuff that they often don't show in highlight reels - little stuff, ad-libbed stuff, which of course I should mention that he did not use a TELEPROMPTER the entire time - there was not one there!!!  He simply talked to us.  It was GREAT.  He was telling a story about a serviceman and while I didn't see it, Reese said he saw a tear roll down his cheek.  Wow.  Can't fake that too easily.

Mitt (sorry, I didn't crop these photos closer - I just wanted to get them up)

So the thing ended with Erik almost comatose from fatigue and stress, lack of fluids and food, me having had to go to the bathroom for the past 3 hours (the stupid place had no bathrooms nearby), and Reese with his leg killing him, but we were all charged up.  Because we were in the VIP section, we were amongst the few who got the opportunity to shake hands as the candidates came by the semi-circle below the stage.  Mitt came first.  Reese wanted to get Mitt to sign his President shirt that he got in D.C. this summer, but the Secret Service told him to put the pen away.  That was a distraction, and Reese unfortunately missed his opportunity to shake Mitt's hand.  :o(  I was able to get Mitt's attention...

Let me tell you something first: I have a VERY strong woman's intuition.  I have been right on MANY occasions about people upon first meeting them, including the person who sabotaged our homestudy a few years back.  I didn't feel quite right about her then, or after, and it turns out I was right.  This has happened to me for years - often I feel nothing special about people, but sometimes I DO feel it and when I DO feel it, I'm RIGHT.  Never have I misjudged someone when I had a "feeling" about them.

From the first time I saw our current president on TV, long before this last election, he made me uncomfortable.  I saw something in his eyes that made me squirm.  The smile was too dazzling, the eyes, ...wrong, somehow.  I know that there will be people reading this that like him and I'm sorry if you are offended, but this is my place to tell my stories, and this is how I honestly feel.  I feel evil coming from behind that smile and that charm.  Sorry, it's the truth as I see it, and I'm never wrong when I feel things like this and the feeling I feel about him is strong.  

As Mitt made his way around the stage floor and he reached me, I stuck my hand out to shake his, among the dozens of others.  He paused to shake my hand and when he did so, he looked me *right in the eye*.  I had the opportunity to look, seemingly, into his soul.  As he told me "thank you" with such a humble and grateful expression, time seemed to stand still.  It was like I could peer deep down into his eyes and see this man for who he truly is.  It was like God showed me something.  I hope this doesn't sound corny, but I could see light.  I could see goodness.  I could see openness, or something.  I could see purity.  It's really hard to articulate, but I was struck by it.  I pulled my hand away after saying who-knows-what back to him, probably "uhhhhhhh" and he was gone, but I stood there for a second, drinking in my impression.  I felt it so strongly...

After Mitt came by, Ann came by and I got to shake her hand too, but she didn't lock eyes with me like Mitt did, and her handshake wasn't as natural as his was - she was being bombarded by the people who pushed in front of me so I can't blame her at all for this.  Reese did get her attention though, and got a good handshake. 

Here's Ann with one of the pushy people in front of us (they came down from one of the higher seats).  I couldn't get a shot of her with Reese, so I settled on her with this girl!  LOL

Connie Mack followed, and got a picture with Reese (I told him that Reese would be a future Congressman, and he lit up and said "HEY!!" and slapped Reese on the shoulder good-naturedly, then we got the pictre.).

Connie Mack with Reese

And it was over.  We walked the mile or so back to the car, renewed with so much energy we didn't notice the distance and had a fun car ride home as Erik slopped forward in his booster seat, asleep before we left the parking lot, and we talked about all of the amazing events that took place.

Reese carried Erik almost the whole way back to the car.

 If you are at all undecided about who to vote for, or if you think you might not vote at all, may I please urge you to go to the polls and vote for the man who's eyes I actually looked into, and saw...  Light.

(shaky legs; giving Mary a rest)Okay, so we got down to the bottom and crossed over.  As we were starting the climb on the return, I started getting tired.  Uh, oh...  Half way up the bridge, my legs just decided they were done.  I had to stop.  My legs were shaky, wobbly, quivering, you fill in the blank.  I was tired.  Meanwhile, I had to carry Mary for awhile cause she was just so tired, poor baby!  Good thing she only weighs 11 pounds.  Somehow, probably sheer will, I made it to the top of the bridge and staggered down the other side to the car.  Wanna know how I felt??


Yeah, I was tired.  But you know what?  It was a GOOD walk.  A very good walk.  Everything about it was perfect (other than the cars zooming by, I suppose).  Even Mary heeled BEAUTIFULLY - she was perfectly well-behaved!!!  We both guzzled down some water in the car and headed home.  Get ready, Mary!!  We're doing it again on Monday!!  Your Bark Therapy has just begun...

Happy birthday, Erik!  Eight years ago, you entered this world unwanted and unloved.  For 5 very long years, you waited for someone to love you and treasure you for the miracle you are.  Your dad, brothers and I were so blessed when we finally found you and brought you into our home!  You have blessed us SO much for the past 3 years - our family would have been so boring and stale without you!  You bring fun, happiness, unadulterated JOY, silliness and innocence into our lives and we can't imagine life without you now.  Your birthmother and father blessed the world the day they brought you into it and now you will bless the world right back!  WE LOVE YOU, ERIK!!  Happy birthday, son!!!