Flu shots today...well, flu inhalations, anyway!! For the two little ones. Autumn was particularly relieved to hear she could get the inhalable version this year, after having the full out shot last year. All of us got the shot last year, as Kim could not be exposed to the live virus.
Driving home, we were coming down the hill on heading south on Houghton, passing Tucson McGraws and nearing the horses...when Autumn suddenly started shouting "donkeedonkeedonkee!!!" and doing some tribal form of dance, restricted only by her seatbelt. Tonio was craning his head from the other side of the car "IcantseeIcantseeIcantsee!!!"...Donkey? Really?? I caught a glimpse as I took the turn off of Houghton onto the gravel driveway leading to the horses...a 90 degree turn at about 50 miles per hour...the rear end of Kim's Expedition trying to fish tail - but I've seen the movie Cars plenty of times and learned from Lighting McQueen how to turn with the sliding car and made it handily...
As soon as I jumped out of the car, thumbing my 'smart phone' to get a photo, the donkey made its way to the fence...seeming to know why I was there...
Like this donkey brought joy to Kim back in 1972...
Rose made her this beautiful, gluten free cake, complete with little boy angel on top! It is made with almond flour and had an apricot filling = incredible!!
Our friend, Monique, who's daughter, Alanah is in Aut's class, had this cake made for the kids to eat. And a couple of the other moms, Maria and Aimee, helped out with decorations and favors. It was a nice shower and we got the chance to show Mrs. Rudzena just how much she means to all of us. She's done so much for Autumn!!
No Thursday would be complete without Italian Wedding Soup!! Aut insisted on taking the photo tonight. Cody's buddy, Wyatt, joined us. His mom, Amy, gave Cody rides all week to school for me - some paybacks are not a b*tch, as Wyatt enjoyed some stuffed shells!! Tonio's digging into a eclair, having finished off a bowl of wedding soup. Autumn ate two bowls. Cody went with some bruschetta and fried egg plant and zucchini...I chose the manicotti and one of Brianna's beautiful cappuccinos...The chill air and the warm atmosphere of Viro's made me think of last year...when Rose and Vito would have me call them on my way home from the hospital and sometimes stop by to provide a safe haven...a shelter...and comfort...It did not matter to them what time I was on my way - they were unconditionally there for us...and still open their hearts and their kitchen for us!
11/10/2010
"Hi Tom, My poor girl cannot catch a break! Here's the latest, as she ends up back in ICU. I spoke to her mom today and she is going to pull the trigger on getting plane tickets and getting out here...Thank you, Dave"
Hello everyone, sorry I did not get an update out last night...it has been an exhausting two days...and if I'm this tired, you might imagine how Kim is feeling...She has had a challenging time, not being able to get off of the oxygen following the removal of the blood clots in her right arm and the insertion of a vent to prevent the blood clots in her legs from reaching her heart. In addition to struggling to catch her breath, she is anemic and her heart rate was seriously increased as she tried to keep up with all of this. She was given two more pints of blood yesterday.
A lung Dr. was brought in, Dr. Riley, who felt she may have pneumonia and he ordered a scope of her lungs done this morning. He found that her left lung was clear, but her right one is bleeding. Could be the blood thinner she is on, could be the cancerous tumor in her lung, could be the blood clots, could be a combination of these complications. He stopped her blood thinners and had her sent to ICU. Our good friend Janene (who not only brought me dinner at the hospital the last two nights, and also cut my hair so I no longer look like a 60's reject!), contacted Father Harry, the pastor of our church, St. Pius. Father Harry showed up within 20 minutes and prayed with us and visited for some time, brightening Kim's spirits. She could not have Communion, as she is on clear liquids only right now. She told him she knows this is not how it ends for her...God has more for her to do. She had a good fire in her eyes...but, by the time the bambini's and I left her tonight, she was just plain tired after another round of blood draws, bed changes and medication.
Mrs. Schrantz, Tonio's teacher and Mrs. Rudzena, Autumn's teacher were awesome again today, keeping the little ones after school and helping them catch up on their homework!! Mrs. Schrantz teaching Tonio to eat hot sauce on his snacks, as every south westerner should, and loves to tell me about his experiments! These teachers have been great for our kids! Mrs. Rudzena's mom, Patti, then took the kids back to our house and fed them home made soup (thank you Rachael and Mike Franzen!!) and brought them down to St. Joseph's for a visit, were we played the Battleship game that Patti brought to us to pass the time. Tonio's pretty good at it. Cody likes to bring my laptop to play games at the hospital. I tried to send this out from there earlier, but there was a bomb threat called in to the hospital and they cut off all communications just as I hit 'send' and I lost the whole message! No bomb was found, thank God.
Hopefully, Kim's lungs will have healed themselves by morning...they are testing the blood every 4 hours and may run some other tests in the morning.
Please continue the happy thoughts and prayers - this whole community has been overwhelmingly supportive, we appreciate it!
Our good friends, Vito & Rosa, sent this email to us last week and it brought us comfort, so I wanted to share...
Love, Dave
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