Ethan’s Journey

  I left Virginia this morning. I was frustrated with this conference. There was very little traffic and the days were long. The bright side was I met a fellow co-worker and she was really nice. I hope we work together again someday. The Roanoke airport was a breeze. No line at TSA. Through in less than 3 minutes. I logged in to try and catch up on some work. I have nothing better to do and my hospitals need people yesterday. Some guy was coughing his brains out. It set me off. I relocated to a different and less contaminated area with little people. Doesn’t this guy gravitate into my area. Packed up again.  I don’t like him showering me with his illness. It wasn’t a heart disease or asthma/COPD cough. It was a wet, I am sick cough with sneezing, sniffling and cascading germs all over every surface kind of cough. He also was coughing into his hand….then touching things. I need a bubble ASAP! I started to panic that I would be sitting next to this guy on my flight. What are my ...

 I survived today. We got through it. My coworker had a 7 hour drive home, so I sent her early.  She was delightful and will look forward to chatting with her. I would totally work with her again. I spent some time outside and enjoyed the 65 degree weather. I took a little walk and then retired to my room and tried to catch up on my work.  I turned on HLN to listen to real crimes and walked through the cases. I totally judged the “murderers” and their terrible mistakes. Why are you leaving latex gloves behind so they can be swabbed for DNA and Finger prints? Stupid! Total rookie mistake. I was picking away at emails and catching up looking at résumé’s. I decided it was time for dinner. I went down to the bar to place my order to go.  I rode the elevator down and walked toward the bar. It seemed as if  everyone who was staying in the hotel was at the bar. Nope! It was VERY people-y. I did a U-turn and went right back to my room to order room service. I needed to ...

 Paul called and wondered if I had any back up boxes of wine. With my previous “emergency wine” purchases, we were able to avoid a wine crisis….all done from a different state. #wifewin I slept terrible again last night. It is stormy in Virginia and I had a low level headache all night. The kind Tylenol doesn’t touch.  I believe it was a mix of bad sleep Wednesday night, traveling and weather/ allergic headache. This conference is SSSSSLLLLLLLOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!! There isn’t much traffic. However, the bright side is that I have gotten some interesting feedback to share with my leadership team. I also have been asking questions to my recruiter partner and learning a few things. I see value in that.  Today was in the mid 60’s. I was only outside for a brief time, but it felt good.  I am tired and have one more day to survive. Hope I can sleep tonight.

  Flying is always an experience. I had a relaxing middle of the day flight. I was through security in 6 minutes.  I had forgotten that I was not on a direct flight. I went to the gate and was like…why is this plane going to Washington DC. Whatever! I figured it out. As long as I know the plan and where to be, I was not going to get lost in the details. I remembered the important stuff, like what to pack and when to arrive at the airport. The flight attendant had a bit of an attitude, but it was warranted. 3 people were talking on their phones during the safety announcement. He stopped the announcement 4 times to ask them to stop. “you can finish that call from the terminal if you don’t end your call now.” Just follow the rules people! My nose is over active. The first plane was a mix of halitosis, oily skin, and dirty laundry. Not farts! That’s good, but the smell was still unpleasant. My face was also unpleasant as it was twisted up in mild disgust. The first flight was turb...

 I had a series of frustrating work events that led me to wonder if I was being secretly filmed. The absurdity of conversations I had were a bit unbelievable. I had one guy in tears on a video call. It wasn’t due to anything I said. It just happened. I was not emotionally ready to talk him through it. We got through it.  Ethan got home from work today and wondered if I could do a hair cut on him. He quickly changed his mind and said he would wait until Sunday. He then paused and asked me when I was going to get home on Sunday.  “I should be home by 4 pm.” I said “ Let’s do the haircut today, because you will probably be tired on Sunday.” He said soooo thoughtfully. We settled on today because he is right. I will likely be tired and cranky. He doesn’t want cranky Mom with a weapon near his face. Good plan! This kid has only gotten his hair cut by a barber once. Every other haircut I have given him. I channel my previous years of dog grooming, and apply it. If you have seen...

 Ethan and I got into a conversation about geothermal heating and cooling. He expressed interest in this and learning more about it. With the little I know about it, I explained that it was A system of pipes that circulate a water antifreeze mixture Deep underground in the winter, it extract heat from the Earth to warm the building in in the summer it reverses the process, transferring heat from the building back into the Earth.  I only know this because Paul and I had a conversation about it a few weeks ago and I had zero understanding and did a small bit of reading. It is supposed to save energy costs.  I told Ethan to start researching grants to cover the cost of this and I would help him apply. Writing isn’t his strong suit (mine either but between the two of us it might be ok). He also expressed interest in solar panels on his roof. He is not pleased with all of the stuff going on with high energy bills in the area. He grumped about it being a monopoly. He told me th...

I got a call today from the Transplant center (cardiac). It was Ethan’s NP. We really like her. She and Ethan’s doctor were chatting about him and she shared how Ethan’s kidney values took a huge nose dive when they switched his cholesterol medication. She shared with him how we weren’t surprised and how Ethan has such wonky reactions to things. She reiterated how Ethan just doesn’t follow the medical rules. After some brainstorming, Ethan’s doctor wants Ethan to get more genetic testing done. Specifically to look at his FLNC variant.  I am not really a whiz with genetic testing, but this variant can give them more information on his genetics to help them guide Ethan’s care for the future as well as be able to help give them more information. He had this testing done 6 years ago. At that time it was determined that he was an anomaly and that his heart issues were not passed along through family genetics. In the past 6 years they have made advancements that help give the doctors inf...