Checking in

Hi, all,
Thanks for the good wishes and prayers.  Just a brief note to fill you in.  J-Man  is in acute renal failure and liver failure and they aren't sure why.  Some of the tests aren't showing anything definitive, and others can't be done because of wonky lab work.  In addition, they found multiple blood clots in his affected leg (the paralyzed side). 

It's all very complex and everyone is scratching his or her head about what to do.  At this point, not knowing the cause, all they can do is treat the symptoms, but he remains puffed up like a blowfish. If you took a pin to his feet and legs, he'd spurt fluid everywhere.  Hmmm, maybe I should suggest that....

But J-Man, being who he is, is in good spirits and usually has the staff chuckling before they leave the room.  He and I are light and dark that way. As he puts it, he feels fine, but everyone tells him he's sick! I am glad he's not uncomfortable.

In addition, he's in my hospital, with some of my friends taking care of him--and me, too, bless their hearts.  Since I work nights, there are many of the day therapists, staff, and various and sundry services I have never met or have only talked with over the phone. They don't know me, or that I'm a nurse, yet they treat him with compassion and patience and sincere good will. It makes me feel much more comfortable when I need to leave him, which isn't often.

DD is coming in tonight, so we are grateful for the long weekend, and her understanding co-workers. Her dad adores her, and I think she will feel better being able to see him for herself. My neighbor has allowed me to put Tandi in her fenced-in back yard so that Tandi doesn't have to spend hours and hours in her crate, and that has been wonderful.

We feel really blessed with family, friends, neighbors, and a wonderful staff of folks at the hospital, from the volunteers to housekeeping to ancillary services and the medical/nursing personnel. Though we have been on the other side of the chart more than once,  each time I swap places I take away a new perspective on my own job.

Saturday at the movies is cancelled for this week.  If we ever get to just watch the television in his room, I nod off anyway, and my brain is mush.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

TCB--Opportunity #1

Angie, over at Poppy Joy, is looking for ways to "Take Christmas Back", by doing things that will help her teach her girls the real meaning of Christmas. They've made Verse Books with verses about the birth of Jesus, but also the hope and joy the world can have because of Him. They are making cards to send to an organization called Make a Child Smile, that features three children each month who are battling chronic illnesses.

My daughter is grown, and fully understands the meaning of Christmas, so my purpose is different, but the same. I mentioned I was going to try and come up with 25 ways to Take Christmas Back and attempt to do one each day. I'm a little behind, but I haven't forgotten nor am I giving up on this. While at the grocery store last week, I picked up extra items for the season: such as boxed stuffing, jarred gravy, biscuit mix, cranberry sauce, etc. and today I carried a couple of bags over to Interfaith Assistance Ministry.

When I got there, they were bustling! I could hardly get in the door. The man who took my bags to weigh told me the children from the local Catholic school brought 600 pounds of food just a little while before I got there! WOW! That rocks!

On the whiteboard above the computer are handwritten numbers--the number of people serviced each day. On Monday assistance was needed for 72 adults and 23 children in our county. The man told me he'd been volunteering there 5 years now, and this is the largest number of people he has seen IAM service. We have a lot of elderly in our county, as many people come here to retire, and lots of migrant workers who end up staying here after the apple harvest is over. Lots of unemployment.

I've noticed I get more requests in the mail for donations this time of the year than usual, I'm sure because organizations know to capitalize on the feelings of "good will towards men". And maybe because people are rushing to catch up on charitable donations for tax purposes. (Sorry, that sounded cynical, didn't it?) But places like IAM need donations year round.

So to take this one step further, I'm going to make a concerted effort to go through papers and magazines for coupons. Usually I only clip the products I need and toss the rest, but I could take the coupons and buy these items for food banks (they told me they can't use coupons). Then once a month I'll take the bags over to IAM, or some other food bank. I'm going to mark it on my calendar to remind me.

I'm going to close the comments for this post, because as much as I appreciate you stopping by, I'm not posting about this to get a pat on the back--I'm posting because Angie's got a great idea here, and I made a commitment to carry it out to the best of my ability. I haven't come up with 25 ideas, but I did list 15 I know I can do. And I find myself looking for opportunities to give or do more--which is what Christmas all about, right?

Magic Moments Monday

I think this will be my last Magic Moments Monday. I've given it two months, and it doesn't seem to be appealing to more than a friend or two. So if it doesn't work, move on. This is not to say I won't be posting Magic Moments as I remember or experience them, and I hope you will do so also, but we won't be making it a Monday regular anymore.

That said, this little girl's blog, Alexander's Heart, is my Magic Moment this week. Please take a few minutes to read her story, and her efforts to Pay It Forward.

My Sponsored Daughters

This past week I got my newest sponsorship package. I've just finished filling out the folder for her, with a current photo and our information and tucked in a couple of coloring book pages for her.

So I thought I'd share these photos of my two girls:

On the left is Dalia, now 15 years old, from a family of 6, living in El Salvador. She's learning to do hair, and maybe will learn dressmaking. She's not attending school, since her mother pulled her out (I don't know why), but the Compassion Center is doing their best to teach her a trade, a way to provide for herself.

On the right is Aduri, 8 years old, from Bangladesh, who waited for over 6 months for a sponsor. Workers in her village earn up to $22/month. I can make more than that in an hour. How could I not send $32 each month to help support her and her family of 6?

I am their only sponsor. I send them letters and stickers and photos and postcards, and they send me about 3 letters/year. They know my name, I know theirs. It is a relationship.

If you haven't been over to Compassion's website to look at those beautiful faces, please take some time to do so, and see if you can find it in your heart and in your wallet to make a difference in a family's life. These people don't have access to health care, to free birth control, to food stamps or government assistance. They are fortunate if they have electricity and clean water. And if you can't sponsor a child right now, consider a donation to one of their programs: Their unsponsored child program, which helps care for children waiting to be sponsored, or maybe their Child Survivor Program, which teaches mothers prenatal care, and how to treat dehydration, etc.
THey have a program for AIDS victims, and one to treat/prevent malaria, and a program for assisting victims of the earthquake in Peru.

There are so many ways we can make a difference in this world, that sometimes we can get overwhelmed. This is one of the ways I have chosen to give back some of what I have been given. I also like to donate to USO for our troops, and Habitat for Humanity, because they don't just give houses away, they empower people to change their own lives.

THere are so many worthwhile causes out there. How do you choose who gets your assistance? What are your soft spots? Your favorite charities? Maybe some of you are looking for worthy projects or programs to help. I'd love to hear all your input!