We are leaving to drive to Atlanta soon with Indie and her 30 lb backpack. Well, maybe it weighs 32 lbs now! I went to the store this morning because the cabin stewards on British Airways are on strike which means no food service. Apparently it won't affect beverage service, only food. So, they suggest you bring your own snacks. The flight to London is about 9 hrs - they land around 10 am and get to spend the day there, sleep over night and take off for Nairobi the next morning, which is another 8 or so hours flight. So I made her take several little things of breakfast bars and snacks to get by on. I'm sure she won't eat half of it, but my guess is someone will!
As a mother, all I can do is hope that we have done everything, thought of everything that will help make her trip as comfortable as possible. If you have the right equipment, you are not burdened with injuries, or annoyances and free to enjoy the amazing experience at hand. Indie was blessed yesterday at church and will be prayed for everyday while she is away by many friends and family, as well as all the Daughters of the King at Good Shepherd. She's got her REI clothing which is super lightweight, SPF 30-50, and treated with Sawyers so the bugs won't get her; we got some sunscreen from a dr she can use with her skin allergies for what the clothing isn't covering; she's got all her survival gear - including the "Platypus" Mike is making her take that she thinks makes her a jungle girl (it's a water thingy that goes in your backpack and you just sip from a straw tube when you are thirsty); she's got her special memory foam neck pillow; she's got her anti-malarial meds, her camera, her safari hat that used to be my dad's, her safari sunglasses - what more do any of us really need?! Yes, she does have her passport and travel visa!!!
Oh, and by the way, my daughter who claims to be horrible at languages, really impressed me with her Swahili!! Indie will undoubtedly have the experience of a lifetime and we can't wait to hear all about it.
2023
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Travel Log
For those of you that are interested in following the exploits of Mercer on Mission - Kenya - 2010. The adventure begins on Monday at approx 9:00pm EST.
Follow this link......
MoM Kenya Travel Blog
Follow this link......
MoM Kenya Travel Blog
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Taryn's Art 2009-10
This is Taryn's Art Portfolio Cover!In no particular order are some examples of her work this year...
come back again and see if Taryn has written some artists' notes about each piece
that are better than the ones I put in! :)
This painting appeared in the school art show.The teacher would have put it in the Frist if they had painted before the Superintendent's Art Show
This is a mixed media piece - another one selected to be in the school art showsome is pencil sketched and some is cut from magazine. See if you can guess which!
A fun project - we liked all of Taryn's phases from
the sketch to the leather printing press thingy to the printing results!
Taryn says this sketch had to be made in one class period
A fun project - we liked all of Taryn's phases fromthe sketch to the leather printing press thingy to the printing results!
Taryn says this sketch had to be made in one class periodIt's not quite as blurry in real life!!
One of my personal favorites! It's up on my mantel and another
One of my personal favorites! It's up on my mantel and anotherof the pieces her art teacher put in the school show
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Taryn Is Outta There!
Taryn took her last official test yesterday as a high school student! FOREVER! DONE! NO MORE!!! Now she gets to take tests as a college student!!! :)
But, for now, it has to feel GRRRREEEAAT!!! I went to her high school today to pick up meds we had on hand at the nurse's office and thought of my girls and the years they spent there. It's the end of an era at that school for our family. I think of how they must feel to know it's the last time they will walk the halls. It is such a small school compared to Gib's, so it's weird to see the differences our kids experience.
Taryn has to go back tomorrow for Senior breakfast and everybody gets on a bus to go to rehearsal of the graduation which will be held at....hello? 9 am on Saturday?!?! Who was the that genius planned that?! And of course it's back at the ever popular venue of the Agricultural Center and, you guessed it.... The Rodeo is in town!!! So, the only question in my mind is:
But, for now, it has to feel GRRRREEEAAT!!! I went to her high school today to pick up meds we had on hand at the nurse's office and thought of my girls and the years they spent there. It's the end of an era at that school for our family. I think of how they must feel to know it's the last time they will walk the halls. It is such a small school compared to Gib's, so it's weird to see the differences our kids experience.
Taryn has to go back tomorrow for Senior breakfast and everybody gets on a bus to go to rehearsal of the graduation which will be held at....hello? 9 am on Saturday?!?! Who was the that genius planned that?! And of course it's back at the ever popular venue of the Agricultural Center and, you guessed it.... The Rodeo is in town!!! So, the only question in my mind is:
- Does the early start time reflect a phenomenon I am not aware of in the matter of accumulation of odor rising during the day; therefore, an earlier start time of say 9 am is in fact preferable to the later graduation stink bomb time of last year in the evening?
- Does the rodeo have a matinee and are we going to conveniently have front and center seats to a stampede when the hats go flying?! Now that'd be cool!!!! Run Taryn! Run!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Even I'm Surprised
I knew it was there, but even I'm surprised by how THERE it really is!!! Yesterday I got the last of the brunette cut off. I am back to a very short cut, but now I can grow it and see what a little length looks like on this silver head of mine. It's kinda interesting.....
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Class is in session!
Today, Indy left for Mercer University to begin the rigorous two weeks of in class study prior to the three week service trip to Kenya. Lest any of you think this trip to Kenya is just service and hard labor, check out the requirements for the 6 units of credit. It definitely intimidates me, but it is one of things I like most about Mercer. They insist that the students exercise critical thinking skills and challenge their students to consider how they might be active citizens in their communities and the world at large.
Quoting Dr. Andrew Silver, Associate Professor, College of Liberal Arts, Mercer University.
"If you want an education that will light a fire in you that will last a lifetime, that will speak to your mind and heart, this is the place for you. If you want an education that will engage you deeply with the world that came before you, an education that will change your relationship with the world that is in front of you, Mercer is the place for you."
Course work for Hon 320/PLS 385 and Hon 310/AFR 300...
Reflective Journal: 25%
The reflective journal should be kept diligently, i.e. daily. You will never have as fresh a reaction to events as the same day you experience them. You may want to have a very small scratch pad with you at all times for making notes, then transfer them to your journal later. Journals should be entered in a small book, not on loose-leaf paper.
Your journal should not be primarily an account of your daily activities. Rather, you should record what you are thinking and feeling about your experiences with classmates, the people you work with in your service projects, your surroundings, reading assignments for the course, and the world around you.
And yes, these journals will be returned to you; you’ll want to keep these in a safe place and read them to your grandchildren!
Class and Service Participation: 30%
Because of the unique nature of this course and the investment made by the University in each student’s experience, it is not possible to withdraw at any point during the term. You will be expected to work hard on the work sites, to contribute to class discussions, to be on time for class.
Your participation grade will be based on how actively and energetically you engage the readings and the service work in country. I will expect each of you to lead a class discussion prior to traveling to Kenya, to participate actively and meaningfully in class and work site discussions, and to attend every class session on time and awake.
Swahili: 10%
Swahili is a very important part of modern Kenyan culture. You will be graded not on your absolute proficiency in the language, which will of course be impossible to attain during the short time we will be in Kenya, but rather on your effort. I expect you to try to learn as much as you can, to greet Kenyans in Swahili whenever possible, and to make small talk in the markets, at the Integrated Child Development Center (ICDC), in Kampi ya Samaki, in Sisit, and elsewhere.
First Essay: 10%
The first essay will document the extent of the water and/or sanitation problem within Kenya or a different sub-Saharan country [statistics will be presented on water quantity/quality, health impacts, etc], the primary causes of the problem, barriers to resolution, and what has been to done to address the problem. Included in the essay will be an analysis of the factors impacting the issue being researched [eg, population/demographics, urban growth, corruption, financing, politics, etc]. Your paper should be 3 to 5 pages in length, a title page, and a works cited page.
Second Essay: 20%
The second essay will include your assessment of the effectiveness of the efforts to date, and specific recommendations on how to improve the situation. These recommendations will incorporate the lessons learned in class and in country, and include, as appropriate, strategies on improvements in governance, financing, technology, and/or education, etc. It may also identify data gaps that need to be filled in order to better understand the issue. A timeline showing when specific actions can be taken, what metrics should be used to measure success, and results expected in 2015 [the Millennium Development Goal year] and 2030 should be provided. Your paper should be 7 to 8 pages in length, a title page, and a works cited page.
Surveys: 5%
Completion of the two surveys (Community Based Learning Student Survey and Student Program Survey) will be required of every student. In addition, you may be asked to participate in the DIT assessment. Your cooperation with this request is gratefully expected.
Quoting Dr. Andrew Silver, Associate Professor, College of Liberal Arts, Mercer University.
"If you want an education that will light a fire in you that will last a lifetime, that will speak to your mind and heart, this is the place for you. If you want an education that will engage you deeply with the world that came before you, an education that will change your relationship with the world that is in front of you, Mercer is the place for you."
Course work for Hon 320/PLS 385 and Hon 310/AFR 300...
Reflective Journal: 25%
The reflective journal should be kept diligently, i.e. daily. You will never have as fresh a reaction to events as the same day you experience them. You may want to have a very small scratch pad with you at all times for making notes, then transfer them to your journal later. Journals should be entered in a small book, not on loose-leaf paper.
Your journal should not be primarily an account of your daily activities. Rather, you should record what you are thinking and feeling about your experiences with classmates, the people you work with in your service projects, your surroundings, reading assignments for the course, and the world around you.
And yes, these journals will be returned to you; you’ll want to keep these in a safe place and read them to your grandchildren!
Class and Service Participation: 30%
Because of the unique nature of this course and the investment made by the University in each student’s experience, it is not possible to withdraw at any point during the term. You will be expected to work hard on the work sites, to contribute to class discussions, to be on time for class.
Your participation grade will be based on how actively and energetically you engage the readings and the service work in country. I will expect each of you to lead a class discussion prior to traveling to Kenya, to participate actively and meaningfully in class and work site discussions, and to attend every class session on time and awake.
Swahili: 10%
Swahili is a very important part of modern Kenyan culture. You will be graded not on your absolute proficiency in the language, which will of course be impossible to attain during the short time we will be in Kenya, but rather on your effort. I expect you to try to learn as much as you can, to greet Kenyans in Swahili whenever possible, and to make small talk in the markets, at the Integrated Child Development Center (ICDC), in Kampi ya Samaki, in Sisit, and elsewhere.
First Essay: 10%
The first essay will document the extent of the water and/or sanitation problem within Kenya or a different sub-Saharan country [statistics will be presented on water quantity/quality, health impacts, etc], the primary causes of the problem, barriers to resolution, and what has been to done to address the problem. Included in the essay will be an analysis of the factors impacting the issue being researched [eg, population/demographics, urban growth, corruption, financing, politics, etc]. Your paper should be 3 to 5 pages in length, a title page, and a works cited page.
Second Essay: 20%
The second essay will include your assessment of the effectiveness of the efforts to date, and specific recommendations on how to improve the situation. These recommendations will incorporate the lessons learned in class and in country, and include, as appropriate, strategies on improvements in governance, financing, technology, and/or education, etc. It may also identify data gaps that need to be filled in order to better understand the issue. A timeline showing when specific actions can be taken, what metrics should be used to measure success, and results expected in 2015 [the Millennium Development Goal year] and 2030 should be provided. Your paper should be 7 to 8 pages in length, a title page, and a works cited page.
Surveys: 5%
Completion of the two surveys (Community Based Learning Student Survey and Student Program Survey) will be required of every student. In addition, you may be asked to participate in the DIT assessment. Your cooperation with this request is gratefully expected.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Love Friday
What a great Friday!
I finished preschool for the school year. Graduation went off without a hitch. We got our Pre-K rooms cleaned, closets purged, reorganized and refilled and locked up for the summer. I helped out in all 3 rooms which meant I floated here and there and did a little bit everywhere but not the lion's share anywhere. It's a delicate balance of helping everyone evenly in 2 days. A couple of our Pre-K rooms are used by the church for the summer so we have to put away alot of our stuff and put out things that we don't mind them using for Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. When we return all the parts and pieces may not be there or be in the shape we left them in so obviously we don't want to leave out items important to our curriculum. If we have to keep replacing when we are intent on adding and enhancing our program it can be frustrating to say the least.
So today was very nice as it was my first real day off. And I got to spend the first half with Indy finishing our shopping for her Africa trip. Then we picked Mariah up at school - YES! she actually went to school for a half day today - and got to hear all about her first day back. Afterwards, Mariah joined me at lunch with some friends and put away half of a huge Chimichanga! She's doing remarkably well! I'm sure many of you read on Facebook how by Wednesday she wasn't even on painkillers anymore. What a tough cookie she is. When we took off the top bandages it seemed to take some of the support off the incisions, and sometimes the pain returns...that, and there is a certain someone who keeps making jokes, causing Mariah to get the giggles (you know how 12 yr olds are) and that is quite painful. I don't know what that persons' problem is but this has been a very funny week for her and she can't seem to stop herself. Luckily for Mariah this comedian had to work on Wednesday and Thursday so she wasn't around very much then. Could be that's why Mariah didn't need any painkillers those days.
To celebrate and pamper ourselves after a rough few days, Mariah joined me on a mani/pedi trip this afternoon. It was a fun afternoon we had together! We barely made it into the car before a huge thunderstorm hit. I dropped her off at home, watched as Taryn made it home in the deluge, then drove to Gib's bus stop at the corner because the lightning and thunder was non-stop. The bus was actually taking kids door to door but we didn't know that until I was already there. The rain was coming down so hard, the kids were drenched in the 5 feet from the bus door to the car door, so running across the yard would have been alot worse.
I also got to see all of Taryn's art work from the year. WOW!!! Gorgeous stuff! I need to take photos and blog this. I already have one piece on the mantel and it is perfect up there with stuff I already had. I would have bought it in a store. She had 3 pieces in the art show for her high school and didn't even tell us. What a little stinker. I would have gone to see it!! She is so talented. Wait until you see the drawings, paintings and etchings.
Tonight we all played Killer Bunnies. It was a fun one. At the last minute Taryn went Kamikazi by mistake (Mariah played a Bad Karma card making her turn the weapon on herself), killing all her bunnies, and some of Mariah's and Indy's. At the bitter end, Indy and I had the final 2 carrots. I only had 1 carrot the entire game too. Indy won with a carrot she got off Mike. That made the victory especially sweet.
Now Indy is catching up on the last of the DVR shows she hasn't watched this week. I believe it will be a Big Bang marathon for the rest of the night.
I finished preschool for the school year. Graduation went off without a hitch. We got our Pre-K rooms cleaned, closets purged, reorganized and refilled and locked up for the summer. I helped out in all 3 rooms which meant I floated here and there and did a little bit everywhere but not the lion's share anywhere. It's a delicate balance of helping everyone evenly in 2 days. A couple of our Pre-K rooms are used by the church for the summer so we have to put away alot of our stuff and put out things that we don't mind them using for Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. When we return all the parts and pieces may not be there or be in the shape we left them in so obviously we don't want to leave out items important to our curriculum. If we have to keep replacing when we are intent on adding and enhancing our program it can be frustrating to say the least.
So today was very nice as it was my first real day off. And I got to spend the first half with Indy finishing our shopping for her Africa trip. Then we picked Mariah up at school - YES! she actually went to school for a half day today - and got to hear all about her first day back. Afterwards, Mariah joined me at lunch with some friends and put away half of a huge Chimichanga! She's doing remarkably well! I'm sure many of you read on Facebook how by Wednesday she wasn't even on painkillers anymore. What a tough cookie she is. When we took off the top bandages it seemed to take some of the support off the incisions, and sometimes the pain returns...that, and there is a certain someone who keeps making jokes, causing Mariah to get the giggles (you know how 12 yr olds are) and that is quite painful. I don't know what that persons' problem is but this has been a very funny week for her and she can't seem to stop herself. Luckily for Mariah this comedian had to work on Wednesday and Thursday so she wasn't around very much then. Could be that's why Mariah didn't need any painkillers those days.
To celebrate and pamper ourselves after a rough few days, Mariah joined me on a mani/pedi trip this afternoon. It was a fun afternoon we had together! We barely made it into the car before a huge thunderstorm hit. I dropped her off at home, watched as Taryn made it home in the deluge, then drove to Gib's bus stop at the corner because the lightning and thunder was non-stop. The bus was actually taking kids door to door but we didn't know that until I was already there. The rain was coming down so hard, the kids were drenched in the 5 feet from the bus door to the car door, so running across the yard would have been alot worse.
I also got to see all of Taryn's art work from the year. WOW!!! Gorgeous stuff! I need to take photos and blog this. I already have one piece on the mantel and it is perfect up there with stuff I already had. I would have bought it in a store. She had 3 pieces in the art show for her high school and didn't even tell us. What a little stinker. I would have gone to see it!! She is so talented. Wait until you see the drawings, paintings and etchings.
Tonight we all played Killer Bunnies. It was a fun one. At the last minute Taryn went Kamikazi by mistake (Mariah played a Bad Karma card making her turn the weapon on herself), killing all her bunnies, and some of Mariah's and Indy's. At the bitter end, Indy and I had the final 2 carrots. I only had 1 carrot the entire game too. Indy won with a carrot she got off Mike. That made the victory especially sweet.
Now Indy is catching up on the last of the DVR shows she hasn't watched this week. I believe it will be a Big Bang marathon for the rest of the night.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Endings/Beginnings
Today is preschool graduation. I feel unprepared. I missed two days in the past two weeks that were part of the final hugs and last story time together, last pushes on the playground swing, last time we played Jello Jiggler Monster, etc. Now we have one hour to line them up, put on their cute square hats, get the wiggles out (not in that order) and turn on Pomp & Circumstance as they march up to the mad clicking of the parental papparazzi in the church sanctuary at our preschool. I do believe I am expected to give half a speech I didn't get to practice. At least I wrote the foundation of said speech. My co-teacher's father had quad-bypass surgery the week before Mariah had her appendix surgery, so I wrote something for her to edit and condense into our final speech. Can you believe the challenges we've been facing the final couple of weeks?! And now here it is. I both love and hate the day all the preschoolers scatter to the winds. It's good to have the school year end, but I dislike seeing all my lovies go. Before you know it they are gone and it's never the same when you see them again.
Mike will be staying home with Mariah today, who slept all night. Tomorrow we are taking down the classrooms and having a group lunch. Hopefully my mom can stay with Mariah or I will have to miss that.
Indy doesn't have much more time with us before she heads back to Mercer to begin getting ready for Africa. I am starting a part time summer job that will pay me in clothing... at Coldwater Creek. Taryn's graduation is coming right up as well on 5/22. Good thing Gib is just mellow for a month or so. I can't take much more!!
Mike will be staying home with Mariah today, who slept all night. Tomorrow we are taking down the classrooms and having a group lunch. Hopefully my mom can stay with Mariah or I will have to miss that.
Indy doesn't have much more time with us before she heads back to Mercer to begin getting ready for Africa. I am starting a part time summer job that will pay me in clothing... at Coldwater Creek. Taryn's graduation is coming right up as well on 5/22. Good thing Gib is just mellow for a month or so. I can't take much more!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Mom My Stomach Hurts
Poor Mariah! She was sooo excited for Mother's Day and woke up before the sun with a pretty bad stomach ache. She didn't want to ruin Mother's Day so she was really sucking it up. We didn't know just how well she was sucking it up because this is a highly unusual M.O. for our youngest. Usually, she is playing it for all it's worth. In fact, that kind of gets alot of her complaining "the eyebrow" and the "so go take care of it yourself" treatment because if you give her too much attention it feeds the fire if you know what I mean.
Around 10:45 p.m. Sunday, I remembered Mariah left before dinner because she didn't feel up to eating. She had a burst of improvement around 3:30 and had a smoothie but then she went back to bad. She hadn't been seen since. I thought about Mariah and the things we had discussed during the day as to what could be causing her problem. Because I had a stomach virus on Tuesday it was a concern. Because she could possibly be joining the ranks of Womanhood, that was a possibility. However, a word came to my mind that sent chills through me: Appendicitis. I froze for about 30 seconds. Then I thought, it's been hours since she first complained, if it's the appendix we don't have until morning. As I went upstairs to check on her, I considered that she should would either be better or at least we should know exactly the cause of complaint.
I found her huddled in bed in serious pain with tears in her eyes. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't get comfortable. She was too hot then too cold. I asked a bunch of questions and poked her tummy which of course hurt. She hadn't had ibuprofen in awhile so I went and got more and told her to drink some water. I bet in retrospect she wishes she had taken more than a sip! I went back downstairs to google the appendix thing, starting to get seriously worried now. I got some good info and went back and poked and prodded her alot harder this time checking for rebound pain. I thumped her kidneys which hurt on the right and checked left and right sides of her stomach. No pain at all on left, but definitely in the middle and travelling right. (After seeing how gently the ER people touched it, I'm pretty sure I was manhandling her waaaay too hard!) Once I checked the symptoms online one last time, I decided we just could take the chance that might be the real deal, and we were 16-18 hrs into it! Putting it off until we could see her regular doc might be a horrible mistake. With dread, I told Mike I thought we'd better go to the E.R.
Once at the E.R. they pretty much knew immediately what they had on their hands. A C.T. scan, blood work, and other lab tests confirmed it - the appendix had to come out. If we had come in before 10 pm she would have had the surgery that night, but unfortunately, she had to wait for the next morning. I tried not to make too many jokes because that made Mariah laugh which hurt, but I can't help it. The voice of the CT scan was waay too funny not to comment about and imitate at least 3 or 4 times at odd times; and calling Mariah "Octogirl" (my variation of Octomom) because we had missed the appendix symptoms thinking she might be getting ready to you know.....and that what, was she fixin' to pop out like 8 eggs at a time or what?! On the one hand, if anyone has to stay up ALL NIGHT in a boring ER room, staying with me - a person who gets funnier and giddier the sleepier I get is rather amusing. But when you can't laugh without pain, it probably is...well, painful.
Clockwise from Top Left: The white thingy is the inflamed, but not leaking or about to rupture appendix (yay!); Top Right: The surgeon is pointing to the appendix which is surrounded above by some googy looking (reminiscent of pre-cooked cinnamon roll) meza-whatver - a kind of "apron" action that happens when inflammation happens in the intestines. It rises up and covers the area of inflammation. I referred to it as the "she's gonna blow!" shielding; Bottom Left pictures a squiggly reverse "S" which is where everything used to be and is now stitched up; Bottom Right - not for the faint of heart is the dissected appendix. Now THAT'S gross.
Flowers from her BFF
Get Well Balloon and Puppy from Grammy
(after returning from surgery. she slept with the super soft puppy..awww!)
Mariah is now home and resting. I was forbidden to take a photo of her in the pink nightie Grammy found for her to replace the backflap surgical gown she was hating yesterday. I could've gotten a great shot of her and her daddy walking the hospital hallway with her IV stand. The nightgown was like manna from heaven when it arrived - compared to the hated hospital gown that didn't fit. One nurse said we could change, then Mean Nurse Nell said NO. I almost had to take on Nurse Nell Ratchet to get our way so Mariah could sleep in it, but nice won out in the end. Whew!
And now we're at today with all the objections of photos of her in a pink nightie appear on the blog. You can tell how much better she feels by the degrees of teenager that keep emerging. It's a wonderful thing to see happen. (Unless you're Gib. Whom she threatened to have thrown out of her hospital room when the morphine was running low. She still maintains he had it coming because of all the stuff he dishes out on a daily basis to her!)
We're thankful for modern medicine, the prayers said over Mariah and on our behalf, and especially for God's promptings and blessings.
Around 10:45 p.m. Sunday, I remembered Mariah left before dinner because she didn't feel up to eating. She had a burst of improvement around 3:30 and had a smoothie but then she went back to bad. She hadn't been seen since. I thought about Mariah and the things we had discussed during the day as to what could be causing her problem. Because I had a stomach virus on Tuesday it was a concern. Because she could possibly be joining the ranks of Womanhood, that was a possibility. However, a word came to my mind that sent chills through me: Appendicitis. I froze for about 30 seconds. Then I thought, it's been hours since she first complained, if it's the appendix we don't have until morning. As I went upstairs to check on her, I considered that she should would either be better or at least we should know exactly the cause of complaint.
I found her huddled in bed in serious pain with tears in her eyes. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't get comfortable. She was too hot then too cold. I asked a bunch of questions and poked her tummy which of course hurt. She hadn't had ibuprofen in awhile so I went and got more and told her to drink some water. I bet in retrospect she wishes she had taken more than a sip! I went back downstairs to google the appendix thing, starting to get seriously worried now. I got some good info and went back and poked and prodded her alot harder this time checking for rebound pain. I thumped her kidneys which hurt on the right and checked left and right sides of her stomach. No pain at all on left, but definitely in the middle and travelling right. (After seeing how gently the ER people touched it, I'm pretty sure I was manhandling her waaaay too hard!) Once I checked the symptoms online one last time, I decided we just could take the chance that might be the real deal, and we were 16-18 hrs into it! Putting it off until we could see her regular doc might be a horrible mistake. With dread, I told Mike I thought we'd better go to the E.R.
Once at the E.R. they pretty much knew immediately what they had on their hands. A C.T. scan, blood work, and other lab tests confirmed it - the appendix had to come out. If we had come in before 10 pm she would have had the surgery that night, but unfortunately, she had to wait for the next morning. I tried not to make too many jokes because that made Mariah laugh which hurt, but I can't help it. The voice of the CT scan was waay too funny not to comment about and imitate at least 3 or 4 times at odd times; and calling Mariah "Octogirl" (my variation of Octomom) because we had missed the appendix symptoms thinking she might be getting ready to you know.....and that what, was she fixin' to pop out like 8 eggs at a time or what?! On the one hand, if anyone has to stay up ALL NIGHT in a boring ER room, staying with me - a person who gets funnier and giddier the sleepier I get is rather amusing. But when you can't laugh without pain, it probably is...well, painful.
Seconds into her first IV dose of morphine. See?! She still loves me.
That put a smile on her face. Aaaah, to be out of pain. Sadly, no water for the duration. Turns out it was about another 12-14 hrs without water to drink. That, combined with the pain, was the worst for Mariah! Luckily, I had a lip smoothie in my purse which I think really saved the day for us. It was grape flavored and felt wonderful on her chapped lips.
Despite the numerous IV bags and subsequent trips to the bathroom, she was just parched from the morphine administered every 3 hrs. Even brushing teeth didn't make her feel any better. At one point a nurse allowed her to swish her mouth if she promised to spit it out. I was sooo nervous the reflex after so long without drinking would be to swallow it, but Mariah was a champ and only gargled.
Finally the surgeon arrived and the appendix was taken out! That only took 30 minutes. It's kind of frustrating watching your child suffer for 14 hrs for a 30 minute surgical procedure. At last it was done though. I got a call while they were still finishing the operation from the OR nurse and later the dr came in before Mariah was out of recovery with his report and the nifty photos. They are kind of interesting, but I know it isn't for everyone, but I think the cinnamon rolls Gib and I made were way more disgusting to look at than this.
Warning! These Aren't Your Momma's Cinnamon Rolls
Clockwise from Top Left: The white thingy is the inflamed, but not leaking or about to rupture appendix (yay!); Top Right: The surgeon is pointing to the appendix which is surrounded above by some googy looking (reminiscent of pre-cooked cinnamon roll) meza-whatver - a kind of "apron" action that happens when inflammation happens in the intestines. It rises up and covers the area of inflammation. I referred to it as the "she's gonna blow!" shielding; Bottom Left pictures a squiggly reverse "S" which is where everything used to be and is now stitched up; Bottom Right - not for the faint of heart is the dissected appendix. Now THAT'S gross.Flowers from her BFF
Get Well Balloon and Puppy from Grammy
(after returning from surgery. she slept with the super soft puppy..awww!)
Mariah is now home and resting. I was forbidden to take a photo of her in the pink nightie Grammy found for her to replace the backflap surgical gown she was hating yesterday. I could've gotten a great shot of her and her daddy walking the hospital hallway with her IV stand. The nightgown was like manna from heaven when it arrived - compared to the hated hospital gown that didn't fit. One nurse said we could change, then Mean Nurse Nell said NO. I almost had to take on Nurse Nell Ratchet to get our way so Mariah could sleep in it, but nice won out in the end. Whew!And now we're at today with all the objections of photos of her in a pink nightie appear on the blog. You can tell how much better she feels by the degrees of teenager that keep emerging. It's a wonderful thing to see happen. (Unless you're Gib. Whom she threatened to have thrown out of her hospital room when the morphine was running low. She still maintains he had it coming because of all the stuff he dishes out on a daily basis to her!)
We're thankful for modern medicine, the prayers said over Mariah and on our behalf, and especially for God's promptings and blessings.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
500 Year Flood
I know it's been FOREVER since I put in a blog post. Crazy busy. My first post was supposed to be the cruise photos I haven't put up. I put them on facebook, but Mike says that isn't good enough! Well, Taryn and I had a wonderful time, but we didn't take very many photos!! I accidentally left her camera at preschool and the camera we took didn't work. The few photos we got on it are stuck forever inside unless we can find someone with a docking station for that camera. Bummer. But we loved every minute of it. I am really glad we didn't put it off until after graduation now that the Gulf of Mexico has suffered the terrible oil spill. The water was sooo blue and beautiful!
Mike is picking Indy up at Mercer today and I need to go get things ready for her, and we have a Mother-Daughter Ice Cream at the ward and a Spring Fling social at Church of Good Shepherd to attend. By the time we do both, they will be close to being home. Indy will only be here 1 week, so I don't want to miss it! Too bad preschool isn't out yet and I have to work all next week :(
I've been very remiss on blogging. I tried to get caught up on all the family blogs and enjoyed reading and seeing your photos. I didn't comment because I was just too far behind! I kept hoping I would have a weekend free, but projects interfere, illness, or something else happens every single time. Luckily I got all our planting done, and the creek bed dredged before the Great Flood hit! Actually, we had two repeat weekends of lots of rain and that is part of why there was such damage. I kind of wondered why I felt so compelled to clean a ditch after the storm from the previous weekend before the flooding weekend...now I know why. It really isn't like me to climb around in that kind of muck. Especially after seeing two centipedes in there. Ewww. I had over a dozen piles of leaves when I was done. And a couple weeks before, my mom had cleaned out fall leaves from another section and had filled several bags. Good thing we followed those promptings. If that water had jumped the ditch, and if it had been higher than 2 feet, we like to tease my mom that her bedroom might not have been here when she returned home from San Diego!
There is rain in the forecase for this weekend, but I'm looking at blue skies right now...keep your fingers crossed!
http://www.millennialstar.org/ click on Just in Case You Missed It
My friend Joanna blogs for Millennial Star. She did such a nice job summarizing last weekend's flood with a photo blog that I am linking it for any who would like to view it. I am always impressed with her blogs at MS - she is so good at it! Joanna is a great friend and I was glad that the 5 mile creek tributary to the Harpeth River didn't reach their house. There's a cool photo of her swing set before it was covered completely and swept across the yard. I'm pretty sure she got it back. It's nice to live on a hill.
We found that to be the case as well. Except when your foundation has a wet springs running under it and some drainage issues that have to be addressed. We do have some very costly structural damage that we will have to get fixed from movement at our foundation. Our third expert came out yesterday and found even more damage than the first two. It didn't all happen from the 15" of rain, however this past weekend couldn't have helped it any.
My take on the event:
Starting Saturday morning around 9 am, the rains came fast and fierce. Lots of lightning. We had a large barrel that filled up once = 10 inches and then again halfway. 15 inches of rain in a little over 24 hrs. Massive flooding and most of Middle Tennessee is now declared disaster areas. Tornado sirens went off Sunday. Knowing that would be the case and the energy in the atmosphere made Saturday night/Sunday morning the most dangerous time, I had Taryn, Gib and Mariah sleep downstairs that night. We were spared. Many others were not.
I figured it would be covered on national news but about a week later I got a frantic call from a friend who just heard about it and thought we might be under water. Well, not quite, many were and still are, we are on high ground at our house but it was intense. A short drive down the hill to the mall exactly 1 mile from our house and cars were covered to their windows and some to their roof tops. The freeway in our part of town was closed with 2 feet of water on it. Other parts of Nashville were much worse. Lives were lost in the flood. Nothing is worse than that and my heart goes out to those families. A coworkers dad is friends with someone swept off his feet and killed in the flood waters. A friend of our family from the Scout troop lost her nephew, a 21 yr old with 2 boys, age 1 and 2, when he tried to walk home because his boys were with a babysitter. He too was swept away and drowned.
A home in one of my co-workers neighborhood exploded and caught the houses on either side on fire. Firefighters couldn't get to it because there was no way in or out - their neighborhood had literally become an island and parts were so deep you could only see the top couple inches of the basketball poles. Luckily, the family whose house exploded from the gas leak had already been evacuated. A family in one of the houses on the other side had to escape when their house caught on fire.
A preschool boy's family was trying to get home from about 45 minutes south. I'm sure it took alot longer with every major road and interstate closing faster than you could keep track of it due to flash flooding. Tornado sirens were going off everywhere. They tried a back route to their house and came face to face with a tornado on the ground. The little boy says it looked like Satan! It was all red and black and had lightning coming out of it. I guess when you are 6 that's what it looks like to you - what could be worse?! She said you had never heard screams so loud or a car turn around so quickly. In retrospect she's bummed she didn't get a photo of it, but I assured her they were in survival mode. Nobody would stop to do that with their children in the car - I know I wouldn't and I watch every tornado show I can and love to see the footage! That tornado never made it to the news that I'm aware of and it took out a couple homes and killed a person.
I spent the weekend glued to the TV, facebook, and email catching glimpses of what my friends and community was going through. I love weather news, and I will freely admit I was totally addicted the entire weekend. You probably saw Mike's facebook status of the TV screen because that was all that was on.
Water conservation are the order of the day for us right now. Clean up is the biggest deal for most people. It will be a months-long process. The Opryland Hotel will be closed for at least 6 months for example. The damage is already over 1.5 billion. Most people did not have flood insurance because they did not live anywhere near a river or were denied getting it if they tried. It's awful. But from another perspective, people are demonstrating why Tennessee is called the Volunteer State and are already pitching in and getting the clean up started. As soon as school is out, I want to get out there with the kids and help people who lost everything rebuild. There will be lots of opportunities to volunteer in the months ahead.
Mike is picking Indy up at Mercer today and I need to go get things ready for her, and we have a Mother-Daughter Ice Cream at the ward and a Spring Fling social at Church of Good Shepherd to attend. By the time we do both, they will be close to being home. Indy will only be here 1 week, so I don't want to miss it! Too bad preschool isn't out yet and I have to work all next week :(
I've been very remiss on blogging. I tried to get caught up on all the family blogs and enjoyed reading and seeing your photos. I didn't comment because I was just too far behind! I kept hoping I would have a weekend free, but projects interfere, illness, or something else happens every single time. Luckily I got all our planting done, and the creek bed dredged before the Great Flood hit! Actually, we had two repeat weekends of lots of rain and that is part of why there was such damage. I kind of wondered why I felt so compelled to clean a ditch after the storm from the previous weekend before the flooding weekend...now I know why. It really isn't like me to climb around in that kind of muck. Especially after seeing two centipedes in there. Ewww. I had over a dozen piles of leaves when I was done. And a couple weeks before, my mom had cleaned out fall leaves from another section and had filled several bags. Good thing we followed those promptings. If that water had jumped the ditch, and if it had been higher than 2 feet, we like to tease my mom that her bedroom might not have been here when she returned home from San Diego!
There is rain in the forecase for this weekend, but I'm looking at blue skies right now...keep your fingers crossed!
http://www.millennialstar.org/ click on Just in Case You Missed It
My friend Joanna blogs for Millennial Star. She did such a nice job summarizing last weekend's flood with a photo blog that I am linking it for any who would like to view it. I am always impressed with her blogs at MS - she is so good at it! Joanna is a great friend and I was glad that the 5 mile creek tributary to the Harpeth River didn't reach their house. There's a cool photo of her swing set before it was covered completely and swept across the yard. I'm pretty sure she got it back. It's nice to live on a hill.
We found that to be the case as well. Except when your foundation has a wet springs running under it and some drainage issues that have to be addressed. We do have some very costly structural damage that we will have to get fixed from movement at our foundation. Our third expert came out yesterday and found even more damage than the first two. It didn't all happen from the 15" of rain, however this past weekend couldn't have helped it any.
My take on the event:
Starting Saturday morning around 9 am, the rains came fast and fierce. Lots of lightning. We had a large barrel that filled up once = 10 inches and then again halfway. 15 inches of rain in a little over 24 hrs. Massive flooding and most of Middle Tennessee is now declared disaster areas. Tornado sirens went off Sunday. Knowing that would be the case and the energy in the atmosphere made Saturday night/Sunday morning the most dangerous time, I had Taryn, Gib and Mariah sleep downstairs that night. We were spared. Many others were not.
I figured it would be covered on national news but about a week later I got a frantic call from a friend who just heard about it and thought we might be under water. Well, not quite, many were and still are, we are on high ground at our house but it was intense. A short drive down the hill to the mall exactly 1 mile from our house and cars were covered to their windows and some to their roof tops. The freeway in our part of town was closed with 2 feet of water on it. Other parts of Nashville were much worse. Lives were lost in the flood. Nothing is worse than that and my heart goes out to those families. A coworkers dad is friends with someone swept off his feet and killed in the flood waters. A friend of our family from the Scout troop lost her nephew, a 21 yr old with 2 boys, age 1 and 2, when he tried to walk home because his boys were with a babysitter. He too was swept away and drowned.
A home in one of my co-workers neighborhood exploded and caught the houses on either side on fire. Firefighters couldn't get to it because there was no way in or out - their neighborhood had literally become an island and parts were so deep you could only see the top couple inches of the basketball poles. Luckily, the family whose house exploded from the gas leak had already been evacuated. A family in one of the houses on the other side had to escape when their house caught on fire.
A preschool boy's family was trying to get home from about 45 minutes south. I'm sure it took alot longer with every major road and interstate closing faster than you could keep track of it due to flash flooding. Tornado sirens were going off everywhere. They tried a back route to their house and came face to face with a tornado on the ground. The little boy says it looked like Satan! It was all red and black and had lightning coming out of it. I guess when you are 6 that's what it looks like to you - what could be worse?! She said you had never heard screams so loud or a car turn around so quickly. In retrospect she's bummed she didn't get a photo of it, but I assured her they were in survival mode. Nobody would stop to do that with their children in the car - I know I wouldn't and I watch every tornado show I can and love to see the footage! That tornado never made it to the news that I'm aware of and it took out a couple homes and killed a person.
I spent the weekend glued to the TV, facebook, and email catching glimpses of what my friends and community was going through. I love weather news, and I will freely admit I was totally addicted the entire weekend. You probably saw Mike's facebook status of the TV screen because that was all that was on.
Water conservation are the order of the day for us right now. Clean up is the biggest deal for most people. It will be a months-long process. The Opryland Hotel will be closed for at least 6 months for example. The damage is already over 1.5 billion. Most people did not have flood insurance because they did not live anywhere near a river or were denied getting it if they tried. It's awful. But from another perspective, people are demonstrating why Tennessee is called the Volunteer State and are already pitching in and getting the clean up started. As soon as school is out, I want to get out there with the kids and help people who lost everything rebuild. There will be lots of opportunities to volunteer in the months ahead.
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