March 27, 2016

Aldor Acres












Today we ventured out to Aldor Acres for the first time and it was straight up amazing. If my living options were the city or a farm, I would choose a farm without a moment's hesitation. We walked around the property, saw the most beautiful baby bunnies, lambs, baby goats, baby chicks, you name it, we saw it's baby form today. The hay ride took us on the perimeter of the farm, stopping to feed the cows and horses. The farm's owners even came out to greet us when we arrived. And I'm pretty sure I fell in love with the baby goat (4th photo from the top). It's to the point where I've brought up that baby goat to at least five different people today. Seriously people, this place is magic. xo

March 6, 2016

in a heartbeat, everything can change



Hi friends, it's been awhile since I had a chance to write. Two weeks ago my dad was admitted into the hospital with stomach pains. It started out as no big deal. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis and they were going to try and treat it with medication for a few days and see how it went. Dad sent me home to collect some of his things to bring to the hospital for him, including his Proactiv Skin Care line, which made me giggle. He said, it really works, the infomercials don't lie! But then, three days into hospitalization, things took a turn, his Diverticulitis ruptured, which only happens to approx. 5% of patients, and it turns the body septic. They had to do emergency surgery and perform a colostomy. It was their worst case scenario, but one in which he was expected to bounce back from. Then a few days later, things went from bad to worse. During his recovery, he vomited into his lungs, which can be fatal. Right away he had to have his lungs drained and he was put on life support. Suddenly it was touch and go. It was hard for me to process, the fact that in one quick week he went from stomach pains to life support. After a week on life support, they were finally able to get him to start breathing on his own. It was a huge turning point because he had two failed attempts to breathe without machines in the days leading up. But since then, his brain has not bounced back. He has pneumonia and is completely delirious. It is hell trying to talk to him because he'll look right into my eyes and then blurt things out that don't make any sense. I can tell you that I've never missed my mother more and yet I'm so glad she's not here to see this. She hasn't even been gone a year, so it's hard to believe we're right back to this level of living with day to day uncertainty.  I'm so lucky in that I have a kick ass uncle, aunt, my friend's parents and my bro who have formed this network to keep each other up to date with any info we find out because with nurses changing daily and doctors on rotation, it's easy for information to get missed.
Juggling this with our daughter who has been sick now for a week, and the busyness of work/home/classes, life has never felt more like Life, capital L. So, if you ever feel bored because you don't have much going on, maybe take a moment to realize, those are the times we should be grateful, when things are quiet, when things are ticking along per usual. Sleep tight friends. xo