There is a television commercial that has been playing recently, early on it is a young girl and boy and shows them older as adults as it progresses. The girl is very active, the boy is reserve. It asks are you the gas or the brake. Jan is clearly the gas. She had a previously life before me. She was a bank teller with two children. Her youngest was ill one time. He required a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). Not knowing what was going on and feeling helpless made her decide to pursue nursing. She blew the top out of some type of entrance exam and her advisor suggested she might try medical school instead. So she went to medical school. Out of her anesthesia residency she started her practice as a solo anesthesiologist from scratch, she later joined a couple of others and they developed a large group. While she was still practicing anesthesia Derek her oldest son developed leukemia. Thankfully he is a cure and he and his wife Laura have two bright and beautiful daughters. Jan became involved with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training. Great organization for a great cause. Team in Training has trained nearly half a million runners, walkers, triathletes, cyclists and hikers. The participants race with a sense of purpose by raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She did several marathons with TNT, contributing thousands of dollars, her first marathon was at age 50. She also became the state TNT coach for a while. She retired from anesthesia and decided to get into real-estate investment business. She did this for the challenge. She had no restate experience but quickly learned about buying, building and rehabbing properties, along with rental property and sales. She learned this business from the ground up including how to make her own contracts. She became the local real estate investment group president. We have traveled extensively. As a side she formed a travel agency. I previously told the story of how one day we(she) decided we(she) would open a bicycle shop. She had no retail experience, is not mechanically inclined and knew nothing about bicycles and really could not ride one very well. Boardtown Bikes has been open almost three years now. What she is doing now could be considered just her next challenge in her long line of accomplishments. No doubt this his will be her hardest challenge but with My Little Darlin's grit if it is at all possible, she will succeed. Do not put it past her to be trying for the Ironman World Championship in the future.
Today she is holding steady. Her sedative is being slowly tapered off. She has only a small amount of spontaneous movement but this is increasing slightly. She still remains unaware. I am patiently but anxiously waiting for that recognizing eye contact. My peace of mind will be greatly improved when that happens. The ventilator settings are being slowly decreased allowing her to do more work of breathing. This takes time. If her pulmonary and ventilator status continues to improve she should have her chest tubes removed in near future. Her GI tract is working well. All of her nutrition now is through her PEG tube (no more IV nutrition is required). She continues to mobilize fluid with the swelling decreasing. Her lab work is normal. Has not had her bilirubin checked in a few days but other visible signs indicate this is improving. Still some fever but this may be trending down. Have stopped some of the antibiotics she has been on. Baby steps!
I mentioned something along this line a while back. This is going to be a very long ride for Jan and me. I know the "new " wears off of things and we all (well not Jan and me for a very long time) go back to our normal lives and routines. This is normal and understandable. I truly appreciate all of the well wishers and prayers. I appreciate everyone wanting to do something to help. I do not know the answer to that well meaning question. The only thing I want and can think about is for My Little Darlin to be alright (right now I would give anything for her to look me in the eyes). What everyone can continue indefinitely is to not only stay aware and share the road but be an advocate. Do not forget this can and likely will happen again to someone else. The more people that are aware the fewer it will happen to. Trust me if we can prevent this from happening to just one person it would be worthwhile. Also put the *%*#@$^& cell phone down while driving and tell others to do the same. If you don't you may as well drive drunk because that will make you a better driver. I am serious about getting cell phone use while driving outlawed and getting harsh penalties if harming someone driving while using a cell phone. I need a lot of help with this. That cell phone convenience is NOT worth a life (drivers or victims). Thank you all for listening!
SHARE THE ROAD, GIVE EM ROOM, IT IS A LIFE
PUT THE @#&^%$ CELL PHONE DOWN WHILE DRIVING
GET OFF THE COUCH
LIFE IS FOR DOING STUFF, DO IT TODAY, YOU MAY NOT GET ANOTHER CHANCE
I Love My Little Darlin, a look in the eyes would be priceless
David
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