Ethan’s Journey

 I had an interesting evening. The past 2 days I have had pain in my lower abdomen. Sometimes enough to take my breath away and do Lamaze breathing while laying in a crumpled up heap on the floor. These waves of significant pain would come and go. I did a GI rest to see if that helped. Last night was quite uncomfortable. I knew I had to go get it taken care of today. I called the doctor’s office today and spoke with a nurse asking if I should just go to the ER because I knew I would need imaging. They agreed that would be best. I went to the local ER and was taken right back. I was able to get a CT. They had me drink a disgusting drink for contrast for the CT scan. I got some IV fluids but my mouth still felt drier than a popcorn fart. It was confirmed that I have diverticulitis on my medical record. My little pocket is abscessed. It was about 2 cm. Which isn’t huge but also isn’t small. I was transferred to a hospital that is able to accommodate overnight patients. My case needed ...

 Today I met my new boss. She seems nice. We will see how things go. I visited with my volunteer clinic today. I am helping them go paperless. They were all super nice and bought me lunch. I am excited for this project. This evening, Avery came home and we went to our high school trivia night, put on by the Alumni Association. The night consisted of many trivia questions with a large variety of topics. Our team was down a person. We were supposed to have 4 people, but we only had 3 (all female) brains.  The group was multi-generational. I saw one of Ethan’s elementary school teachers. He looked old. I decided that there is no way I aged as much as he did in the same number of years. Ha! Our team, even with being a person down, came in 4 th place out of 11 teams. I answered maybe 3 questions. But I was confident in those 3 that I answered. It was a fun night to benefit a good cause. It is nice to know that the money spent will be used toward scholarships.  We shared many l...

  I was really proud of Ethan today. He is really showing signs of maturity and growth. We had a meeting with the SSI office today. I had asked him to get his pay stubs together ahead of time as directed by the office. Ethan had them ready to go for the meeting. He even called and spoke with the lady. He gave all the information that was asked of him to give. He did it with a good attitude and without complaining even one time. I know he is almost 21, but this is a big deal for him. It is cool to watch him evolve. He has also been enjoying the dogs. Today I was watching him enjoy the littles in the window. Tomorrow is a big day. I have another clinic visit and then trivia night.  I am helping this clinic with their journey to electronic medical records. I know, it sounds riveting. Paul was fixing my car last night until almost midnight. I felt bad that he was up so late. But I have my snow tires on, my brakes all fixed up. Ready for winter! In the spirit of being thankful this...

 Monday! This week is a new week and I am leaving last week behind. Ew! Today wasn’t too bad. I actually was overly productive in chores and work. Must have been all the sleeping I did over the weekend. Ethan worked all day. When he came home, he spent some time in the living room and then disappeared to his room.  Paul came home, got his hair cut and drove back to work to work on my van. What a Saint! I made sure dinner was warm and plentiful for him. I also did many extra chores so he didn’t have to. This evening I spent some time watching Greta Van Fleet videos and admiring the craftsmanship of their jumpsuits. It seems as though the jumpsuits are always just a little too small every time. Somehow it all works. I do think that they are a talented band. They are often compared to Led Zepplin. Jiminy was bored with the music and fell asleep under the blanket.

I was tired today! I felt sluggish. I ended up taking a two hour nap. Phew! Then I was ready to go to a friends house for a daytime campfire. We ate chili and donuts. What more could you ask for? Ethan went to his friends house for a bit. This made me so happy. I heard him on the phone chatting with his buddies earlier today. I am so thankful that he was asked and was able to go. Any little bit helps Ethan socialize and blend in with the general population. I know this sounds silly, but I think he is sometimes held back because he was stunted socially a bit with everything he went through. Avery did end up shaving her head yesterday afternoon. She is bold. She has the perfect head shape for it.  She still has a significant scar on her head from when she cut it open on a nail in the chicken coop when she was 4. It looks like she was stabbed in the head. She could really evolve that story into whatever she wants it to be. Ha! We are getting closer to being able to have a fire in our ...

Happy Veteran’s Day! I have a few veteran’s in my life that I am thankful for. The selflessness that it takes to defend a country is quite amazing in my eyes. Thank you to all of our veteran’s for fighting for our rights! I actually went to bed last night around 8:00 pm. I slept all the way until 5 :30 ish. This am.  This is a big deal because I have been in turmoil about somethings going on with my job all week.  I was able to sleep without significant dreams. Today I got my ducks in a row. I did the typical cleaning. Avery came home and it was nice to see her cute face. She is thinking about shaving her head again. She can pull it off well.  Avery and I met a friend for lunch. Lunch was delicious and it was nice to catch up. Then Avery and I went and ran errands for the rest of the afternoon. I made a cheesy tortellini soup for dinner which everyone scarfed up. Yum! Paul and I had a date night and ran into several old work buddies which was fun. I got to catch up with m...

 I drove home from Syracuse this morning and was home by 7:45. Paul was sleeping still as he had the day off for Vetran’s day. Happy Veterans Day to all of those that have served to protect our rights. We appreciate your sacrifices, hard work and bravery. Today zoomed bye! Meeting after meeting, I had to keep trying to focus. I hear a noise and it disrupts my concentration. Like a dog with a squirrel. Ethan went to his follow up eye appointment. He has healed from the metal in his eye. There has been no change in his vision. His poor cornea has another scar on it. He corneas, like the rest of him, are full of scars from when he fought for his life. He stepped in shit and came out smelling like a rose. We will celebrate this! I am glad it is Friday. There was a lot going on this week. This introvert needs to replenish some energy.