Embracing Life

Better late than never! ;) One of the things that I love about Disney are all the things to do. Not just the parks, but the many other fun things that you can do when at the most magical place on earth.  The last time we went to Disney, we had full days at all the parks, and no time for anything else.  That really didn't work for my family. My kids like their downtime.  So on day three, we made plans to do something totally different.  My parents, sister, and her kids chose to rent a car and drive to Clearwater to see a famous dolphin and check out the beach.  My family stayed behind and made a day of checking out the other things Disney has to offer.  After a relaxing morning and breakfast (it was nice not having to rush to get to the bus!), we walked down the path to Port Orleans - Riverside, the other resort nearby.  We checked out the pool, although it was still a little cool to swim.  The kids played at the playground, then we...

Synopsis:   A mother’s work is never done. Not while Sunny has a ghost of a chance. Her sister and brother-in-law, Honey and Bert, are good people, no worries. Sunny’s twins will have a loving home with them in Mossy Creek, a warm-hearted small town in the mountains of Georgia. But Sunny, a San Francisco voiceover artist before the accident that killed her and her husband, has bad memories of Honey and Bert’s unpredictable, autistic son, Jeremy. Will he harm her babies? Sunny’s not leaving until she’s certain they’re safe. My Review: This was a short, but very sweet read. Not what I would normally pick up, but I am a big fan of Sabrina Jeffries. Sunny, mother of twins, passed away in an accident. But she cannot let go of her children until she knows they are safe. Her memories of her autistic nephew, Jeremy, are from years before, and she is afraid for what the future will bring as her sister and brother-in-law take on her twins to raise. Jeremy was so unpred...

I haven't had a girls' night out in forever. Much of my life the past few months have been focused on my health, as well as some school issues we are having with one of the twins. Work is especially busy this time of year. A couple of weeks ago, I saw that our local movie theater was going to be showing Dirty Dancing, so I texted my sister and we made plans to go with another friend of ours. The theater is one that does dinner and a movie, in really comfy leather chairs. However, this was part of their classic movie series, so we were seated in the special event screening room. I assume it's what they use to show staff new movies: an intimate room with 8 or so big leather couches. I tried to take a picture, but this swagalicious girl kept photobombing me. #swag #yolo #icky (I don't know what those hashtags mean, but my 10 year old niece uses them a lot, so we (her mom and I) like to bug her by pretending to be cool.) There was a whole wall dedicated to Mari...

After I received my kidney failure news, my doctor reached out to a colleague at Rush University in Chicago.  This was a specialist in the field of nephrology.  The doctor advised to not use steroids, just go straight to the transplant process.  My doctor seemed disappointed at this, as he thought steroids could help.  I asked if we could try a low dose anyway.  "Low dose" in this case is 40 mg/day.  That's a lot more than you get if your regular doc gives you a steroid script for a sinus infection or inflammation.  It's been a little over a month on predinisone.  Life is tough on it. Don't get me wrong, I am super thankful for the little white pills I take each morning.  They've made some inflammation go down, and my lab work go up. I will take it. But the side effects are a PIA.   Sleep, or lack thereof I don't sleep. In fact, I haven't slept in 3 days.  Well, ok I am being a little over-dramatic. I've had roughly 8 hours of...

31 one days ago, I read my test results on my phone app. Then I stood in my kitchen and cried soft tears as my brain registered "GFR = 12".  Under 15 is bad, bad, bad.  12 gets you a call from a specialist at big-name Chicago hospital whose brash bedside manner may not be the best fit for most people. "Shit, you are still a kid," he said when I told him my age. "Get in and get a transplant now." His next piece of advice was softer. "Be pro-active. Call the hospital now, and then call back to follow-up. Don't wait for them."  He even gave me his personal email if I had additional questions.  So I did as he advised.  I called. When they told me they couldn't see me until May 22, I asked to be put on a wait list if someone cancelled.  The man was surprised - they don't do that sort of thing. But I didn't let that stop me. I received all the paperwork in the mail. I found my possible donors.  A few of them fax...