Friday, July 4, 2008
A New Addiction
I am interrupting this week of Miracle Workers to let all of you know that during my convalescence my mother gotten me addicted to HGTV.
Have you seen this channel?
It's incredible.
My mind is swimming with ways to organize, decorate, and add "curb appeal".
I cannot stop watching.
I am pathetic.
Have you seen this channel?
It's incredible.
My mind is swimming with ways to organize, decorate, and add "curb appeal".
I cannot stop watching.
I am pathetic.
Labels: Life
Miracle Worker Day 6
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Miracle Workers Day 5
Today's miracle worker is Paula Resco, RN. Paula is a hospice nurse. She was not my husband's hospice nurse, but she was the nurse who happened to be on call the weekend my husband slipped into a coma and died.
I don't know how any of those hospice workerd do it, but they are the kindest, most compassionate people in the world. When Paula came to home and explained to me that John was in the process of dying, I couldn't stopped crying. She held my hand and waited until I was ready to hear what I needed to hear. She promised to come back and check on him. She stared a lot at our children, her heart obviously breaking a little bit, too.
When John died, she came to our home, officially pronounced him dead and then stayed a while. This is unusual. They just sign the paper work and move on to their next paitent, but Paula waited for the funeral home to come get him; she helped clean up his room. Together we discarded all the medications. She even let me keep the albuterol that John used to help him breathe because my son has asthma and it was the exact same dosage.
Besides being John's nurse, Paula was a sorce of comfort to me also. I hope I never have to see her again, but I was happy to have her when we needed her.
I don't know how any of those hospice workerd do it, but they are the kindest, most compassionate people in the world. When Paula came to home and explained to me that John was in the process of dying, I couldn't stopped crying. She held my hand and waited until I was ready to hear what I needed to hear. She promised to come back and check on him. She stared a lot at our children, her heart obviously breaking a little bit, too.
When John died, she came to our home, officially pronounced him dead and then stayed a while. This is unusual. They just sign the paper work and move on to their next paitent, but Paula waited for the funeral home to come get him; she helped clean up his room. Together we discarded all the medications. She even let me keep the albuterol that John used to help him breathe because my son has asthma and it was the exact same dosage.
Besides being John's nurse, Paula was a sorce of comfort to me also. I hope I never have to see her again, but I was happy to have her when we needed her.
Labels: Life
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Miracle Worker Day 4
Today's Mircale Worker is this man:
His name is Dr. Jay Chun and he was my husband's neurosurgeon. Dr. John is not a miracle worker because he removed the tumor from John's spine. He is a miracle worker because he is one of the most decent humane people I have ever had the pleasure to meet in my life. I just wish I could have met him under better circumstances.
Dr. Chun inspired my husband. Even when John was no longer Dr. Chun's patient, he heard he was back in the hospital and came to visit him. He offered my husband inspiration and hope.
The morning he was going to operate on John, he came to see him to explain everything. Then he checked with the nurses to find out when I would be in. He came back when knew I would be there and explained everything to me. THEN...he asked me if anyone from my family would be at the hospital to support me. THEN...he wanted to know how our kids were and who was caring for them. THEN...he hugged me and told me he would take good care of John in the OR.
John and I had some pretty good experiences with doctors and oncologists when he was sick, but no one in my entire life has come close to Dr. Chun when it comes to bedside manner.
I remember telling John after he came to see him in the hospital that I liked Dr. Chun so much, if I hadn't married John I would marry him. John told me he didn't blame me one bit.
Labels: Life
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Miracle Workers Day 3
Today's Miracle Worker will remain anonymous. She is a former student of mine. I'll just call her A.
By the time A was in sixth grade she had TWICE grown her hair and had it cut for Locks of Love. No one told her to do this. It was just something she wanted to do.
A was a kind, compassionate young lady. She would have been on my list of favorite students even if she hadn't donated her hair to charity (and yes, all us teacher have favorite students that we will always remember). She wasn't the smartest in the class or the most popular, but she was one of the sweetest.
I should probably include A's mother as a Miracle Worker too because I'm not quite sure how you raise such an unselfish charitable child, but I hope I can do the same.
By the time A was in sixth grade she had TWICE grown her hair and had it cut for Locks of Love. No one told her to do this. It was just something she wanted to do.
A was a kind, compassionate young lady. She would have been on my list of favorite students even if she hadn't donated her hair to charity (and yes, all us teacher have favorite students that we will always remember). She wasn't the smartest in the class or the most popular, but she was one of the sweetest.
I should probably include A's mother as a Miracle Worker too because I'm not quite sure how you raise such an unselfish charitable child, but I hope I can do the same.
Labels: Life
Monday, June 30, 2008
The View
I know I'm supposed to be talking about Miracle Workers this week, but I can't let the day go by without discussing the following:
I always had a fantasy that I would be one of the hosts of The View. I know I'd be much better than that Debbie Stupidopolous or the vapid Elisabeth Hasselback. I have a lot of opinions and would love to express them on The View. I also have a lot of life experience, something the younger women they choose for the show never seem to have. Lately The View has pretty much sucked, though. They used to have a nice cross-section of professional women represented--a journalist, a lawyer (and before her ridiculous wedding to her gay soon-to-be ex-husband, Star Jones was good on that show), a comedian and a moron (Lisa Ling excluded). Now it's 3 comedians and one moron. Ugh.
Today, though, I realized why I could never be on The View. Today I would have been fired. You see today, "Mother of the Year" Dina Lohan was on with the newest child she is exploiting. As I listened to this woman BS the women on The View; as I watched the 2000 pound gorilla in the room that no one would talk about (you know, the fact that her oldest daughter is a drug-addicted whore whose career is destroyed); as I watched these seemingly intelligent women (minus Elisabeth, she's a moron) ignore the obvious, I found myself yelling at the television. And I know, in my heart of hearts, if I ever had the type of job where I had to interview someone like her, I would have lost it on this women. And then Barbara would have had to fire me.
I always had a fantasy that I would be one of the hosts of The View. I know I'd be much better than that Debbie Stupidopolous or the vapid Elisabeth Hasselback. I have a lot of opinions and would love to express them on The View. I also have a lot of life experience, something the younger women they choose for the show never seem to have. Lately The View has pretty much sucked, though. They used to have a nice cross-section of professional women represented--a journalist, a lawyer (and before her ridiculous wedding to her gay soon-to-be ex-husband, Star Jones was good on that show), a comedian and a moron (Lisa Ling excluded). Now it's 3 comedians and one moron. Ugh.
Today, though, I realized why I could never be on The View. Today I would have been fired. You see today, "Mother of the Year" Dina Lohan was on with the newest child she is exploiting. As I listened to this woman BS the women on The View; as I watched the 2000 pound gorilla in the room that no one would talk about (you know, the fact that her oldest daughter is a drug-addicted whore whose career is destroyed); as I watched these seemingly intelligent women (minus Elisabeth, she's a moron) ignore the obvious, I found myself yelling at the television. And I know, in my heart of hearts, if I ever had the type of job where I had to interview someone like her, I would have lost it on this women. And then Barbara would have had to fire me.
Labels: Life
Miracle Workers- Day 2
The next two miracle workers are a team. They are neonatologists at St. Barnabas Medical Center.
Dr. Santo Domingo and Dr. Tien, Neonatologist at St. Barnabas Medical Center
When Aidan was born he had breathing issues. Our poor baby boy was on oxygen and was hooked up to IVs when he was just hours hold. We couldn't even hold or touch our baby for four days--and even then, we had to be so careful because of all the wires he was hooked up to. Aidan spent eight days in the NICU. One of the hardest things I ever did was leave the hospital without my baby.
Drs. Tien and Santo Domingo cared for him in their NICU with caring, competence and compassion, along with all the NICU nurses. I remember when Dr. Tien would come to my hospital room to see me, he would always touch my hand and try to make me more comfortable with the whole situation. Both doctors acted like it was their own children in that NICU.
Fortunetely, Aidan's story has a happy ending. He left the NICU eight days after he was born a perfectly healthy baby.
Dr. Santo Domingo and Dr. Tien, Neonatologist at St. Barnabas Medical Center
When Aidan was born he had breathing issues. Our poor baby boy was on oxygen and was hooked up to IVs when he was just hours hold. We couldn't even hold or touch our baby for four days--and even then, we had to be so careful because of all the wires he was hooked up to. Aidan spent eight days in the NICU. One of the hardest things I ever did was leave the hospital without my baby.
Drs. Tien and Santo Domingo cared for him in their NICU with caring, competence and compassion, along with all the NICU nurses. I remember when Dr. Tien would come to my hospital room to see me, he would always touch my hand and try to make me more comfortable with the whole situation. Both doctors acted like it was their own children in that NICU.
Fortunetely, Aidan's story has a happy ending. He left the NICU eight days after he was born a perfectly healthy baby.
Aidan's Third Birthday