In My Own Words

It happens to us all. You know what I’m talking about…life’s sailing along relatively smoothly, you get complacent and take it for granted that all is right with your world, all things considered. Then out of the blue – WHAM! – your little corner of the world isn’t so smooth sailing at all. This has been one of those months; thank goodness it’s not typical!

Our 28-year-old nephew Nathan has been in ICU since February 13th after a horrendous car accident, and has been on quite a roller-coaster of improvement followed by setback. His Mom (my oldest sister) has been at his side for the majority of his stay in first Carle Hospital in Champaign, IL and now Barnes Jewish Hospital in St Louis, MO. Nafe hit a rough patch earlier this month, and his doctors prepared everyone for the worst – but he’s rallied around and is off the ventilator now. He’s not out of the woods by a long shot, but he’s not currently knocking at death’s door either.

My Dad took a fall at the campground where he’s host, and wound up in the hospital unable to stand or to use his hands. He was moved from the local hospital where they’d taken him, to St. John’s in Springfield, IL, where there’s a neurology department. An MRI showed there was a narrowing of the spinal canal at C4 and C5 vertebrae, down to 4 cm from 12 cm, which the fall he took aggravated and caused pressure on his spinal cord. That is what caused the inability to use his hands and legs. Surgery was scheduled, and was performed on Monday. I wasn’t able to be there, but thankfully family members who are on facebook kept updates posted. The surgery went well; he’s doing good. They’re talking about sending him to a spinal injury rehab facility for a couple of weeks of intense physical therapy focused on the type of injury he has before sending him to a skilled nursing facility.

On the Soldier side of my world, I was able to send out several care packages this month. Some recipients I have heard back from, others I have not and likely will not. We got a thank-you note from one of our Ft. Campbell troops letting us know they got the package we sent and that everybody enjoyed the snacks and goodies; I sent a reply to the note the next day so I wouldn’t forget.  Last night I composed letters to several of our Warriors, which will go in the mail today.

One of our Warriors is on R&R, getting ready to go back to the Kitty Litter Box in a few days. One will be going on R&R soon. I just heard from one a couple of days ago who just got back in Feb., was reassigned to a different base, and is already being deployed again. (I hate that…I’m sure his wife and little ones hate it even more than I do!) Another of our Warriors is in a rough place at the moment, and he and his Soldiers could use a little extra morale boost. I could only send one or two boxes, but one of my friends (and fellow Support Junkie) came to the rescue – she adopted his group and was able to get 22 boxes of goodies together and sent out. God bless you, Patricia! You are a prime example of why Tennessee is nicknamed the Volunteer State, and it has nothing to do with college basketball!

We’ve had some unexpected expenses this month and the budget is really tight. It is going to take a little time to get things caught up, and in the meanwhile I’m going to be mostly sending cards and letters to our Warriors. I guess that’s better than a jab in the eye with a sharp stick, but I still feel like I’m letting our Warriors down. I’m going to have to get over that, I know; it just might take a little time. (I can hear Sis saying “Oh, my heck…just put on your big girl panties and deal with it!” So, Sis, consider it done…LOL!)

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Feel free to comment; any feedback, positive or negative, is always welcome.