Ethan’s Journey

​Paul and I both got our 4 ish hours of sleep and the alarm went off entirely too soon. I made some strong coffee to help. I had to ride with Paul to the airport to pick up my car since I didn’t fly into Rochester like I was supposed to.  I was totally feeling the burn of yesterday’s wear and tear on my body.  There was a steady rain this morning. Jiminy was living his best rainy day life today. It was slightly chilly and damp in the house. He took matters into his own paws and twirled himself into a soft, fluffy and warm cocoon to nap. Paul and I  both trudged through our day. I got a second wind this afternoon. After work I was able to do some meal prep in anticipation of going to camp for an extended stay. I got 17 meals in the freezer. Phew! Tomorrow I will stock up on more groceries.  I also made a chickpea and beet salad that was a nice blend of flavors. After eating on the go for the past few days, I need add in some veggies and protein.  I did have a bri...

​There was a man at the conference that I got giggling at. This poor guy. He was working at another booth and was really excited to talk about his product! I am not mature enough to be here! I am also glad I am not a man. I get excited to talk about vet med….I would hate to present myself like this. However, I do believe it was something in his pocket. Ha ha. Teardown was a nightmare. I had to carry a 40# box down to the business center. I rented a cart, was yelled at because apparently there is a “freight elevator” for big items like a cart. I was getting off the regular elevator and was greeted with a snarky lady barking that at me. No one was waiting to use the elevator for the one floor I had to travel. That seemed like a “her” problem that she was so cranky. The lady and guy in the booth next to me were kind enough to help me tear down the booth by myself. It was incredibly kind and I appreciated it more than I could ever verbalize. I was able to package everything into 2 more box...

 I woke up to a Baraat going on outside, 10 floors below. It was so loud! A Baraat is translated as “groom’s procession” and is an Indian wedding tradition. The tradition is that the groom’s family throws a high energy send off to the wedding venue.  Everyone was dressed up. There was music pumping. There was an announcer with a microphone. They were so joyous and upbeat. It was fun to watch and listen to. We have been seeing the people belonging to this group over the past few days. The women are all dressed up in their beautifully beaded traditional Indian attire. My coworker and my got a front row seat to this party, walking right by it on our way the conference. When we arrived at our booth, our chairs were gone. Boo! I guess the next 12 hours of working will be on the hard concrete. We stole those fair and square. We couldn’t even complain. We had to become thankful we had them all day yesterday. We worked really hard to get people to talk to us. I had to become militant ...

​My coworker and I headed over to the convention center early to iron out the multiple kinks that had revealed themselves. We learned more about shipping the materials back at the end of the conference. Basically I may need to get an Uber to Fed Ex about a 10 minute walk or 5 minute drive down the street. I will likely have to make a few trips. Ugh! We got most things situated on time. I decided to just deal with my end of conference issue….at the end of the conference. Life will go on. There is a cute little dachshund in our hotel that attended the conference. His name is Oliver. He is a dapple guy! He has a marbled coat with a mix of light and dark colors. He has a happy tail and we were fast friends in the elevator. After the conference, my coworker went to the Chief’s game. That seemed too people-y after a day full of people. I went back to my room and logged in. I had a few hours of work to do and catch up on….quietly.  I ordered room service for dinner. I ate quietly. It was ...

​I made it to the airport and through security 12 minutes prior to boarding. I was cutting it close but valued sleep today.  I sat in the area for boarding and saw a man braiding what I assume is his wife’s hair. They were older than me, probably in their 70’s. He then braided what I assume is his daughter’s hair, she was in her late 40’s early 50’s. I don’t think Paul would be able to do that if he tried. To be fair, he also would have no interest. I wasn’t sure if I should be impressed or kind of creeped out.  I don’t mind traveling alone. I am only in charge of myself. I had one back pack to be in charge of as well. Easy peasy! I arrived in Kansas City on time and sat in the airport waiting for my coworker to arrive. I ordered a margarita. Yum! I really enjoy her company and was excited to see her.  We checked into our hotel and walked to the conference center to set up our booth. We were sweating and pissed off at the end of setting up the booth.  The events team...

​I packed my bag tonight for my work weekend. I am working at a conference in Kansas City this weekend.  Work involves setting up a booth, trying to find people to work in our Kansas City clinics and making connections. A friend of mine lives in Kansas City so I am looking forward to visiting with her and her children. We are planning to meet up tomorrow. Maybe do a dinner or something. I have one other coworker going with me that I adore! 🥰 she should be a blast to work with. I have been given my orders on my priority hospitals to try to hire for. It is a tough assignment.  My alarm is set and I plan to get up around 4 am. Yikes! That sounds early!!!!! 

Ethan got home from work and decided to mow. He used his mower that he has been working on a good part of the summer on.​ this thing is ridiculously large. He maneuvered it gracefully around the yard. He wanted something that he could mow quickly with so that if he was tired after work it wouldn’t take too long. Smart thinking! I had so much fun tonight. I got together with my two great friends and we went to dinner to celebrate my birthday. Of course we went to Margaritas, my favorite! Getting old is boring in the fact that things don’t deviate from the normal much. “How have you been this summer” is answered in a “I go to work, eat, sleep and repeat” kind of way. I ordered my margarita and it was perfect. I was also gifted a birthday shot on the restaurant, a tequila sunrise shot! Yum! I missed my friends. It was nice hearing about their camping trips, what their kids are up to and comments on life. We shared laughs and excitement talking about planning a snowmobile trip. I do look f...

Avery and Kendall got on the road mid morning. ​Today was the perfect day to work. It was chilly, very windy and rainy!  I didn’t get jealous of anyone even though I had to stay inside. Normally I get jealous because I don’t want to work if everyone else is having fun and relaxing. I drove home after work. The traffic was not bad. It rained part of the way. I listened to a good dateline episode. My guy, Keith Morrison was telling the story. He is so good at it! I did chores when I got home. Super boring. Tomorrow is dinner with friends I haven’t seen in a few months. Yay!

​Avery, Kendall and I stayed behind today at camp with my aunt and uncle. It was a leisurely day with a quick sprinkle lasting less than 5 minutes. The rest of the precipitation went up the river valley. It was sunny most of the day but the wind was whipping! Gusts up to 32 miles per hour made it quite unenjoyable. I spent time in the camper doing things on my “to do” list like book tickets for next years cruise. We took the dogs on a walk. I also went separately. I took Penny on a bike ride as well. Avery, Kendall and I went to a local restaurant. There was live music which was ok, but a little bit loud. Yep! I sound old. I couldn’t hear Avery and Kendall talking unless we were raising our voices. The service was mediocre at best. It took 45 minutes for our food to come. Luckily we ordered poutine for an appetizer. It was delicious. Our waiter had a very meek and quiet voice and the 3 of us tried to figure out what he was saying. Our table top was a bit sticky. The menu’s were stickin...

​another awesome day at the lake. We had a leisurely day. The sun was out, it was warm. After a few walks up the road, and a bike ride with Penny and we were ready for the boat. Some of our group road jet ski’s and the rest by boat. We went to the island to go swimming.  After swimming ended, it was time for tubing! Some of the girl’s wanted to go tubing. We had our spotter as well as our tube riders. Off they went, Paul towing the all over the lake. There were a few epic falls. I had succeeded tiring Moe out. He got up in the chair and fell fast asleep. What a goof. We played “would you rather” again. It sparks some thoughtful conversations and  answers. We were all laughing and being silly. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. I am not excited about it. It may help me make the decision of when to go home.

​it was a beautiful day at the lake even though Paul and I had to work. The lake was calm, there was a slight breeze and the sun was shining over us. Paul finished early and went out on the jet ski as I slaved away! Avery, Kendall and the Henchen crew of 6 rolled in.  Brooke, Ashley and Avery all grew up together. It was fun to see the kids and their significant others hanging out and chatting away. Brooke, Avery and Kendall go to the same college. It is neat to hear them chat about different happening on campus. We had a nice fire full of laughter. We played “Would You Rather”. One of the questions was “would you rather suck on a toe or lick an eyeball?”  The debate started. Questioning if you could choose the person whose toe you had to suck.  My answer was hands down….lick an eyeball. I don’t know why you wouldn’t choose that. Eyeballs are usually quite clean.  It’s interesting the difference in opinions over this theoretical situation. Avery started naming off th...

Animals are so interesting on the behaviors they observe. Moe enjoys sitting on the porch. Moe can’t be left outside without supervision for long. I don’t allow him to do this unless I am either outside with him or he is on his tie out away from any delivery person that may show up. Moe has figured out when my phone calls are ending for work. As soon as I hang up from a call, he jumps up and is bugging me to go out. He doesn’t have to go to the bathroom. He just wants to sit on the porch. I can’t tell if it is the inflection in my voice or a key phrase I say, but he knows when the call is done. There is no noise that signals I have hung up.  Penny has learned that if she hears the life 360 noise, someone is coming in the house soon. It is really cool that they pick up on our behaviors and noises. When I shut my computer at the end of the day, all the dogs get excited. They turn into Velcro. During our team meeting my boss was presented with a quarterly team nominated award. Our tea...

​I drove up to camp after work today. Paul passed me on the expressway about an hour from camp. He was SPEEDING! I chose not to try and keep up with him because my luck would get a ticket. I listened to 2 dateline episodes. I find two get me door to door. Neither one was narrated by Keith Morrison, which was a let down. I coped with that though. The lake was smooth and beautiful. I caught a colorful sunset. Avery, Kendall and the Henchen family arrive tomorrow.  Yay!

​Paul was so helpful today. He picked up the test kid we needed for the re-draw of Ethan’s blood for the research study Ethan is in.  It saved me a trip that likely would have eaten up a good hour of my day at the very least.  I don’t ask for much as a wife and am very grateful when I do ask for help and Paul accepts the task without complaining. Even if he did complain….it still saved me time. Ethan can take this kit with him the next time he gets his labs drawn. Hopefully a “clerical issue” won’t happen again and they can test this sample. My day was busy full of talking to candidates for work. It drained my energy and I needed a recharge by 5:00 pm. A recharge consists of doing chores, thinking, spending time alone and not talking. Ideally…without noise.  Paul got home and his ankle is all swollen due to his fall. I had him elevate and ice it for a bit. It looks pretty nasty….enough to brag about. Ouch! Ethan is considering doing an apprenticeship to become an electric...

​Avery came over today to go through some things in her bedroom. She made some decisions about keeping things and donating things. She found a note I had hid…who knows how long ago.  It was a small business card size note with a pretty picture on it. It was an inspirational quote from Mom….just for that right moment. “When you are feeling like you are not good enough….just remember… at least you aren’t a crack whore.” We were cracking up. Wise words from Mom. That was totally planted a while ago to make her smile. I had clearly forgotten about it. It ended up making us both laugh. She pointed out that it was solid advice! I used to hide these all over her dorm room on move in day and she would find them the rest of the semester. Ethan had a dentist appointment. He had his cavity filled. He did great! Even despite his mouth sore. I spoke to the transplant team. If we discontinue the medication likely causing the mouth sore, insurance may not approve his other medication, the injecta...

My drive home was uneventful. I did start to get quite tired when I was about an hour from home. I thought about pulling over for a quick power nap but I was able to avoid that. The dogs were perfect. I took them on a walk prior to getting in the car. They slept the entire way home. I listened to a few Dateline episodes. I think Keith Morrison’s voice soothes them to sleep. Maybe that was why i was so tired. ​when I got home today and saw the progress that was made on Ethan’s barndominium. They have forms in for the sidewalk and things were prepped for the floor to be poured. I hope they do it soon! I did adult chores for the rest of the day. Boo! I have to be an adult sometimes I suppose.

We woke up late today. It was glorious to sleep past 8:00 am. Little Jiminy was snoring. His snores are of course adorable! ​today was great!  I was able to take the dogs on a walk, take two on a bike ride. We did about 4.5 miles. Each pup got a lake bath and new bedding. I don’t want stinky dogs. The weather was a wonderful temperature, the wind was blowing in the right direction and we were able to go all the way to “Walmart” Beach. Paul and I took our jet ski’s. The rest of the crew minus one were on the pontoon.  We met up with friends and enjoyed the hot sun. Diane and I were floating on the double tube, with a cooler inbetween us. After dinner, Paul and I went rock hunting. There is a spot in one of the islands that has unique rocks. There are a bunch of green ones, I found a shiny, white one too. We got back after the sun went down, and watched the moon. It was so pretty. We had lots of company at the campfire. We also had lots of laughing….until late. Paul’s shin looke...

​Today started out as a smooth lake with some fog. The lake was like glass. It is so pretty when that happens. I had a phone screen at 7:30 am for work. Started the day bright and early. In the middle of the morning, I heard Paul yelling to “get off my jet ski!” I went to look and there was a cormorant sitting on it. He had emptied his cloaca all over the jet ski cover.  I walked down the dock slowly and was able to get fairly close to it. I did what any wife would do. I took a close up picture of the scat and texted it to Paul. I video’s his reaction and sent it to the kids. Ha ha. He was not pleased with the shit-uation. He later went out with a buck to rinse off his jet ski cover.  Heather left around dinner time. Andy and Diane arrived as well as Lois and Craig. We sat and chatted for a bit.  Paul took the jet ski out for a ride. When he returned, he slipped and scraped the skin off his shin. He walked off the dock asking for some first aid assistance. I got out my su...

​Ethan is doing daily blood pressures after they doubled his dose of blood pressure medication. He is STILL high. I think he is immune to the meds.  I called the Insurance company today. I am an approved representative for Ethan. He has given them permission verbally to add me to his account. I went through the damned prompts, chose the one I needed and waited. I listened to a melancholy flute solo until a lady came on. She shared her name and I remembered it. “I am calling because I need to get my son’s new subscriber number. He just signed up for state insurance.” I explained. We went through the verification questions and then told me that his insurance expired 7/31/26. There was nothing new policy.  I was going to have to call the state for assistance. Oh come on! “He was signed up for the state insurance last week and it was retroactive  as of 8/1/26. I have already spoken with the state.” I explained as politely as possible. I shared that he did have a subscriber nu...

​Today is Phineas’s birthday, our previous dog. He would have been 17 years old. Ethan and I were texting about how much we miss him! He was the best dog ever. Moe will never fill his shoes. No other dog will possibly come close. We talk about him often. I am sure he still watches over us. He always made sure his kids were safe.We love you Phin dog! I hope you get to dive for rocks every day. My friend, Heather, came up for a visit today. She stays until Friday. She helped me take the dogs for a walk up the road. Moe has accepted her into his circle.  We sat outside and watched the sun set with Paul. The sun was a hot pink color glowing in the sky sinking lower and lower.  We chatted the evening away. I went to go in and take a shower. Somehow the switch for the hot water tank broke and there was no hot water. We do have a second way to heat our water…..propane. Since it was getting late, I decided it could wait until morning. Crisis averted.

​I started my morning with having coffee with the neighbors. Not a bad way to start the day, over looking the lake. My friend got her surgery today and is doing well which is wonderful news. There is progress happening on Ethan’s barndominium. The Pex is in. Pex is for the heated floor.There is prep for the sidewalk and porch. Hoping the concrete will go in soon! It has been a long time coming!  Nothing else exciting happened today. Nice, boring and quiet!

​when you were 23, did you have to take your blood pressure regularly to share with your doctor? Ethan does.  He also had the pleasure (sarcastic) of worrying about needing his medications and not being able to get them yet. I had to call the pharmacy to explain what was going on, have them order the medications because they are too expensive to keep in stock. We do this each time he needs a refill of his medications. They order them and they arrive the next day. My pharmacy lady is amazing! She is so helpful and makes us feel like she cares.  I shared with her that we were told by Wednesday we would have an insurance subscriber number. She ran his meds through insurance anyway. It came back that he is active in the system, meaning he was back in business with his insurance. Woo hoo! We also got a message from the doctor today to get Ethan’s blood pressure. We have a machine at home. Ethan has to take it by himself and report it. I had a leisurely day even though I was working...

​it was a pleasurably Sunday. It was breezy but the sunshine kept us warm.  We puttered around, the dogs went on a few walks, chased away some geese, and enjoyed the warmth. I talked Paul into going to Wilson bay. We grabbed a few pretty and red rocks.we drove over there instead of boating. We like to get decorative reddish rocks and park them around camp because when it rains, they look really vibrant. We ended up taking the jet ski’s over to the island and hanging out. The island blocks any wind and allows the sun to be hot, so that cooling off feels good. We came back and ate leftovers. Since it was a bit windy, we sat outside listening to music with the dogs, but didn’t have a campfire.  It was a pleasant evening.

​This morning, the weather seemed “iffy”. It looked like rain was on the way according to the weather app. Luckily we had the benefit of the St. Lawrence Valley Channel. This makes it look like storms are headed our way, but the bypass is and travel up the St. Lawrence River. The river valley acts like a conduit steering the weather up the river.  A storm blew right by us with about 3 minutes of sprinkles. The dogs got several walks (as did I). Moe was a bit stinky so he got a lake bath and happily dried off in the sunshine. Paul and I took the jet ski’s out. We parked them close to shore and swam out to our neighbor’s boat. We enjoyed the still water and sunshine. We had a brief sprinkle and it passed. The water was warm enough to be able to jump in and not have such a cold shock where you flirt with a seizure. That might be dramatic but sometimes it is shockingly cold. We had a leisurely dinner and settled in for a fire. We watched the storms and rain going up St. Lawrence Valley...

​I woke up early this morning to drive to camp. I arrived around 8:30 am. Morning drives has so much less traffic. I did my work and shimmied in a few dog walks too.  I called the insurance company, as directed, and they said to not expect a number assigned to Ethan for insurance for at least another 5 days.  I was hoping what the lady said yesterday was true. If I could get Ethan’s number, we could provide it to the pharmacy to get his meds shipped. Darn! I tried. My Aunt and Uncle and myself went out to dinner at a local restaurant. It was quite busy, but then again, it was Friday night. We got seated quickly but I think our waitress was overwhelmed. She was not even half as good as the waitress the other night. Our meal was excellent. I also didn’t even have to make it and that somehow made it  more delicious. Paul had arrived by the time we got back to camp. We ended up have a nice fire. The lake was calm with very little breeze.  This is why we work so hard. Wor...

​After work today Avery and I drove to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday dinner. We met my in-laws there.  Avery ordered an alcoholic beverage off the menu. My little adult baby. ❤️ Paul was mad that he forgot his reading glasses. He hates that he needs them and refuses to bring them in places that require him to read. He hasn’t accepted that this is a normal aging process and it is ok. He told me I was going to have to read him the menu. I started reading it to him and he became annoyed with that. He suffered through squinting and adjusting the length of the menu. Avery got a picture of him pouting about his eyesight while trying to read. She said his face stayed like that the entire time her read the menu. Our meals came and were delicious. Our waitress was amazing. She anticipated needs excellently, forgot nothing and was very personable. She also had a wonderful sense of style with the cutest phone cover and brilliantly artistic nails.  I put in a positive review for ...

​We got a letter in the mail yesterday dated 7/28/26 stating Ethan’s health care coverage ended on 7/31/26. Cool. Nothing like giving us a heads up. We need to refill some of Ethan’s medications. So it is kind of important. This is not the first time we have been in this situation. I call the number on the letter we received. I explained the letter and that he no longer had insurance. She told me he can’t apply for insurance because it wasn’t open enrollment and followed it with “is there anything else I can help you with?” Anything else you can help me with? You didn’t help me with anything. “Because his insurance has ended, doesn’t that count as a qualifying event?” I asked, knowing full well it did. “Yes.” Then there were crickets. I allowed her a moment to process. “He can go to the NYS website and plans start as low as $600/month.” That is more than he makes in a week. He certainly won’t be able to sustain paying for this. I started asking more questions and was transferred to som...

​I got the call today to set up a time for someone to come to the house Saturday to draw Ethan’s blood. What a cool perk of being part of a research study. I picked Avery up from the airport. She was able to go sight seeing today in Washington DC. She saw the Washington Monument and went to an art museum before hopping on a plane to go home. I got to work outside for a bit today. It was nice and cool in the shade. Moe is driving me nuts. At the islands, we walk a lot. I think he is getting cooped up. He asked to go out to lay in the sun about every half hour. I spent the evening listening to Paul and Ethan troubleshoot some issue he was having with the mower he bought. It sounded like a foreign language. Jiminy told me he would rather be cuddling in bed than listen to that boring stuff.  Jiminy and I snuggled in until Ethan came in and snatched him back. That little guy is so loved.