Friday, December 28, 2007

"Ear ye Ear ye..."

My oldest son just had another surgery on his ear. This time it was supposed to be a simple prosthesis surgery, lasting about 30-45 minutes. Two and a half hours later, the Dr. comes out to tell us he had a regrowth of his Cholestiatoma (SP?), and he had to remove it along with the accompanying infection. But the surgery went well, he had his stitches removed today, and everything is going according to plan. He still has some gel packing around the ear drum and prosthesis, but he can already hear out of that ear. We thank all who gave support for him during this surgery.

Take care. Stick.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Lost and Found?

I was sitting at my desk this afternoon, when I suddenly realized that my PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) was not in its accustomed place on my desk. Horrors! I have lost my PDA! It has so much on it that I need— important dates, phone numbers, etc., not to mention all of the games and books. I thought of where I may have lost it. I retraced my steps, only to have no luck. Could someone have stolen it? Great, now I’ll never see it. I went to the main office in my building to see if it had been turned in. Again no luck. I posted an all call e-mail letting everyone in the building know that it was lost, what it looked like, and how to know if it was mine. After almost an hour of agony, I began to once again go through my day trying to think of where it could have been misplaced.

On the way to work, I had run into a traffic jam caused by bad weather, poor road conditions, and a minor accident in the tunnel on the freeway I use to get to work each day. I was delayed for almost an hour. Like normal, if I have time to kill, I took out my PDA to while away the time. In my truck, on the seat, (belted in for safety I’m sure) was my PDA. Maybe it was early Alzheimer’s, or just senility setting in early, but I was glad to find it, glad that someone had not been so low as to steal it, and only slightly embarrassed to again e-mail my associates to tell them the story.

Keep your head on straight. Have a Great day. Stick

“The blind shall see, and the deaf shall hear…”

Many of my family know that my oldest son suffered an infection in his ear that resulted in him spending 6 weeks in critical care. As a result of that, he had damage to the bones in his left ear, one of which had to be removed, and his hearing suffered. Recently, we had his hearing tested to determine what course of action would be best to help. When he first came out of the hospital, the Dr’s told us that they could replace the bone with a plastic prosthesis, but that the surgery would not necessarily make his hearing any better than it was already. Now however, they have a new titanium prosthesis which our Dr. tells us should return his hearing to almost normal. He will go in Dec. 21st for an out patient surgery. They will go through the ear canal for the entire procedure, and he will be able to go home with us that afternoon. It is amazing to me the things that science has brought to our society. Two years ago, this wasn’t possible, and now –here we are. It really makes me thankful for being alive in this day and age. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Take care. Stick.

My cup is full—don’t spill it!

Thanksgiving day we had a table full of 16 for dinner. Actually our table overflowed onto a table set up in the living room for the kids. No, not a card table, but the same idea :o). I was very grateful for the family and friends who joined us, especially when I heard about the 31 that Inside Stories had at her house. My wife just recently made contact with a cousin of hers that lives in our area, and she and her husband also joined us. With her addition, we evidently added that touch of after-dinner entertainment that most family get together’s need. She would make a comment, and everyone would break up laughing. She compares favorably with Yogi Berra for abusing and misusing the English language by either mixing up the word, or using the wrong word in her conversation. I think by far the favorite was when she was discussing the “Hy-anal” hernia that an acquaintance had suffered with. All in all though, it was a great time.

Don’t eat too many leftovers—just enough. Take care. Stick