Sandra Cox's Blog, page 104

Wacky Writerly Wednesday

The Ride Continues

I'm back....
It's still pretty crazy here, but my bro had the transplant and it was a success. The day before he had it and before we knew a liver would be available we received a text from the sis-in-law that the bro had a week to live. Two max. So when my sister and her HH arrived we decided to take a road trip to FL. In the meantime a liver arrived. Thank God. My understanding is there is a window of four hours to get the liver to the recipient. They flew it in by jet. The surgery was a success and each day has been an improvement. Thanks to all for the prayers and well wishes.

Since we were in Tampa on my birthday, the carnivores kindly took me to a seafood restaurant. Lucky for me they had a pasta dish. Heh.

AND...
We had celebrated birthdays the night before we left for Florida.
We are still riding the rollercoaster with the baby. His parents have gotten several different opinions and at present most hospital teams that have weighed in feel he needs surgery then chemo.

AND...
A little poetry from the HH.

Mean Streets at Ten Years Old
M J Cox
I Step out the front door and down the concreate steps
Into the summer brightness. Turning right
Would be a big mistake. That only leads to the old brick grade school.
Way too many hours spent there already.


So left it is as the old deaf guy across the street
Yells something unintelligible at the TV. 
Don’t know why the volume is turned so high.
He can’t hear it anyway.  


No time to fool around.  That weird lady
In the house covered in shrubs may let her
Doberman out.  He’ll come roaring across the street
Like a winged lizard, smoke streaks in his wake.


In the middle of the next block
Dicky’s house is on the left. 
Always trying to be a bad ass.
Just doesn’t work for him though.


Across the street is Doug’s house
He was a close friend until he wasn’t.
Not a good time to be at his house,
His dad being off the beer right now.
                                        
                                     A few houses down, there’s a boy

                                             In residence. Seldom seen and never heard,

                                             He’s more a rumor or a wraith.  The lawn is

                                             Perfect though, every blade of grass uniformly green.


                                             Next corner and a left turn will lead

To Bill’s house.  He was always a good guy
Till Viet Nam messed with his mind.
He’s in Nevada still getting past it.


                                             Turn right to Merle’s house

                                              He always played it too cool,

                                             Like he had something to prove.

                                             Two older brothers will do that apparently.



                                             The next corner is Decatur street. Further down

Are Just a few faceless houses straddling the street
like broken picket fences. At the end
Is the brick home for boys where the ones from problem families go.
                             

                                             There is a steel tube three feet wide

                                             That runs on a diagonal down the street

                                             Side wall, a fire escape that looks like

                                             It’s daring anyone to try it.



                                             On my streets we’re all a little nervous

                                             As if on some apocalyptic day

                                             A great tide will sweep us all down the asphalt

                                             Into that foreboding house of lost souls. 

So what's been going on while I've been gone? Do you write poetry? Are you a Capricorn baby?

Weekend Wishes

AND...
AND...
AND...The 19th would have been author Carmen Stefenescu's BDay. Carmen, wherever you are, I hope you're partying down. Blogger buds. I've pre-posted but my bro had his transplant so I will be offline for a bit.

Wacky Writerly Wednesday

Blogger buds. I've pre-posted but my bro had his transplant so I will be offline for a bit.

Did You Know

Did you know, and if you are a Tolkien fan you probably do, that on Tolkien and his wife's shared grave are the names Beren and Luthien?
Blogger buds. I've pre-posted but my bro had his transplant so I will be offline for a bit.

Rollercoaster Rides

Do you love them? They just aren't for me and recently I've been on the most terrifying ride of my life.  The baby had congestion in his lungs and had pulled out his feeding tube so back to the hospital he went. While they were putting in the feeding tube they decided to do an MRI. After reading the scan they told my son and DIL that the tumor was back, growing aggressively and that the baby needed surgery asap.  The fact that it had been less than four weeks since he'd had surgery and at that time, we were told the remaining tumor/mutation was at this point nonaggressive, knocked everyone flat. It didn't make for a good outcome.
The son and DIL decided to take him to a hospital that specialized in Ped cancer so he was put in an ambulance and driven out of town, with the expectation of another surgery shortly after he arrived. I went to bed thinking we were going to lose this child and how unfair it was for a ten-month-old to get dealt this hand. Oddly enough, when I woke up my entire perspective had changed and while I knew the odds were not in our favor I also knew odds could be beaten and felt we were going to do exactly that.  Not too long after this I learned from my son that this hospital team told them it was not a life threatening situation and he didn't have to have surgery immediately. The next day they got the diagnosis. The first hospital had misread the scan. The second hospital was kind enough to say they could see how it had happened. When the tumor was removed and the water drained from the brain the remaining tumor shifted positions and that is what showed up on the scan. This current tumor is not aggressive and the plan is to do chemo to shrink it. Needless to say we are so relieved. I know folks make mistakes in all walks of life, but this one threw everyone in a tailspin, not to mention how it devastated the parents. But it is such a huge relief we can't get too upset about the misread. The good outweighs the bad.

The bro...well that's a story for another day.

AND...since we are both January babies, the sis and BIL are flying in today to celebrate this week. So we are off to the airport to pick them up. Feel free to party down right along with us.

HA...I bet you thought I was through.
The hellebore and kale are blooming.
AND...Solar bluebirds I got for Christmas. AND...
I'LL END with this parting shot. Heh. To be captioned, I bet you can't see me.

Weekend Wishes

AND...
AND...
AND...

Did You Know

This one is a little macabre, but did you know your best chance of getting a transplant is over the holidays because of all the accidents?

IWSG Wednesday

The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.
Thanks, as always, to Alex Cavanaugh, founder and Ninja Captain extraordinaire and our awesome co-hosts.
The IWSG monthly question can be found under the IWSG Sign-up tab on the Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog.
The January 8 question—What started you on your writing journey?
I had finished my degree and was working in my chosen profession when I realized I didn’t like it very much. So one afternoon, I asked myself what I wanted to be when I grew up and realized I’d always wanted to be a writer. And so it began. I worked around a full-time job and young children, but carved out time to write every day. I’ve never looked back.
AND…
Reviews.


BORN IN A TREACHEROUS TIME by Jacqui Murray
I have read several of this author’s books and they continue to mesmerize. In this particular story the reader is taken on a journey into prehistoric times where survival can never be taken for granted. The heroine is strong, yet gentle, with a veracious appetite to learn more about her surroundings, other humans and animals, and how to keep her clan alive. To survive she must think and react as her male counterparts, something that not all the other females in her group appreciate. In spite of much opposition, she perseveres.
It was obvious many long hours of research went into this saga. I highly recommend this book especially for prehistory buffs and those who love a well told tale.
A CHILDREN’S ANTHOLOGY by Judy and Keith
This fun anthology has tales for the young and young-at-heart. Each short is a fantasy with helpful information on physics and science woven into the fabric of the story.  If you enjoy dragons and cats, you’ll love these shorts since both wander in and out of them. These stories are purrfect to read to a child or for a young adult to read on their own.






AND…
AND...

Ketchup Day

A belated wish for a:
As the regular blog buds know the end of 2019 hit my family like a tsunami.
My cat was diagnosed with cancer, as was my grandbaby. My brother went in the hospital with a failing liver. At the end of the year Captain Stubby went on to his next cycle of life. He was eighteen and pretty much lived life on his terms. We miss him, but it's such a relief that he is no longer suffering.
On the plus side of the Cox Board and it's a huge plus. The biopsy report on the baby came back a one-two astrocytoma. It's non-invasive. It does have mutations with the potential for growth in the future but that's not a given. Also he's on a feeding tube, but all in all wonderful news. Update: I wrote this Friday. He's now back in the hospital with congestion. Hopefully, they will get him squared away soon and it will be a short stay. 

My brother has been in the hospital since well before Christmas and they've run a gazillion tests on him. He's down to a PET scan and approval from the review board, then he'll go on the list for a liver transplant.

But enough Cox angst. How do you like this wrapping paper? My son-in-law took plain brown paper and added the design. Isn't this amazing? And what a great idea, hey?

AND...
Our grandson's drawing was chosen for the school Christmas card. Proud? You bet:)

AND...
In with the HH's BDay presents were advent treats for the dog. Heh.

AND...I got some wonderful mementoes for the holidays including a beautiful card from EC, a fun Jacquie Lawson card from Val, a PERSONALIZED bookmarker from Rockin' Ro and these delightful socks from the grandbaby--with a little help from his daddy, of course;)
AND...last but not least. This is for all the cat people out there.
The FL sis sent me this picture. Isn't this awesome?
How were your holidays? Have you ever designed your own wrapping paper? Have cat flower pots?