Suddenly....
Much like the sudden eruption of spring in Atlanta, Liam had amazing last two days. It started yesterday, when Rachel cried three times:
1. When Liam asked for water. We thought to give it to her very gradually - suck it from a sponge. But NO, she demanded water. So it was given to her from a cup with a straw. And she gulped. Now this is something Liam used to do on a regular basis until several months ago when this whole ordeal started. But since then, not a drop of liquid or any food came into her mouth. So Rachel cried. Then the Missy asked for yogurt. Amazing.
2. She picked up a little toy that somebody brought over - a small revolving-lights flashlight. And started playing with it. Again, something she hasn't done in months and months.
3. Hospital staff - Drs, nurses, others - were amazed to see Liam driving her wheelchair in the hallway all on her own. Most of them don't know that this is what Liam used to do on a regular basis. The only Liam they know is the one laying in bed with her eyes closed, the one that screams out of pain, the one that is helpless.
Later last night she asked for chicken. CHICKEN???? Are you out of your mind? The GI Drs' recommendation was for Liam to return very gradually to food - first with liquid food through her feeding tubes. Only later soft food through the mouth - maybe. But NOOOO, she wants Chick-Fil-A and she wants it now.
So how is this sudden improvement explained? Are the prayers really work? I guess there's always 50% chance that they do. But since I personally don't pray (except when it's 11 seconds to go and the Falcons need a touchdown), I'm crediting the dialysis. Ok, you don't need to be a human gnome scientist to figure that one out. So the question is then, if this such an easy answer, how come they waited such a long time before starting dialysis?
It's easy NOW, in hindsight. But for all those months Liam was not "sick enough" (whatever that means) to get dialysis - per the Drs. And we trusted them, `cause what do we know about life beyond laundry basket wisdom?
Secondly, despite the great news, Liam is not out of the woods yet. It's not like she's jumping up and down. She's still very sick and is hooked to many hoses and such. She still doesn't feel good more than she does,
Additionally, her blood is under the microscope - literally. They discovered two things, which might be linked:
1. Aluminum traces in her blood. Probably from a medication she received.
2. She produces enough red blood cells, but they disappear somewhere.
Nevertheless, these are the first good news in months so we are thrilled - to say the least.
And now it's a beautiful Friday afternoon, but instead of drinking beer on my porch, I'm here with my little vomiting buddy. Rachel got the night off. Well deserved and needed, but also a strategic move. You see, she doesn't know yet that Arsenal FC plays Barcelona on Passover night. I've gotta soften the blow somehow.
Meanwhile Liam isn't sleeping. Beside the nausea from the dialysis, her days and nights are reversed.
The Laundry Basket Guide to Cryptography
Back in the kibbutz everybody's cloths were tagged with numbers. Moishe is 56, Sarah is 33, etc. Every Saturday you through your dirty cloths into the appropriate bin in the central laundry facility. Every following Friday you picked them up from the shelves with your number on it in the main distribution facility.
My cloths are no longer marked with a number, but the old number is still with me, And every time I need to enter a password somewhere, I encrypt it with my old laundry number. So now the hackers among you know how to break my code. All you need is to get my old laundry number. This is easy. Somewhere in Atlanta there's a homeless wearing my old shirt - the one I lost in the battle for my financial freedom, remember? Now go get it.
But now I jinxed it all once again since Liam's having a shitty night.
Much like the sudden eruption of spring in Atlanta, Liam had amazing last two days. It started yesterday, when Rachel cried three times:
1. When Liam asked for water. We thought to give it to her very gradually - suck it from a sponge. But NO, she demanded water. So it was given to her from a cup with a straw. And she gulped. Now this is something Liam used to do on a regular basis until several months ago when this whole ordeal started. But since then, not a drop of liquid or any food came into her mouth. So Rachel cried. Then the Missy asked for yogurt. Amazing.
2. She picked up a little toy that somebody brought over - a small revolving-lights flashlight. And started playing with it. Again, something she hasn't done in months and months.
3. Hospital staff - Drs, nurses, others - were amazed to see Liam driving her wheelchair in the hallway all on her own. Most of them don't know that this is what Liam used to do on a regular basis. The only Liam they know is the one laying in bed with her eyes closed, the one that screams out of pain, the one that is helpless.
Later last night she asked for chicken. CHICKEN???? Are you out of your mind? The GI Drs' recommendation was for Liam to return very gradually to food - first with liquid food through her feeding tubes. Only later soft food through the mouth - maybe. But NOOOO, she wants Chick-Fil-A and she wants it now.
So how is this sudden improvement explained? Are the prayers really work? I guess there's always 50% chance that they do. But since I personally don't pray (except when it's 11 seconds to go and the Falcons need a touchdown), I'm crediting the dialysis. Ok, you don't need to be a human gnome scientist to figure that one out. So the question is then, if this such an easy answer, how come they waited such a long time before starting dialysis?
It's easy NOW, in hindsight. But for all those months Liam was not "sick enough" (whatever that means) to get dialysis - per the Drs. And we trusted them, `cause what do we know about life beyond laundry basket wisdom?
Secondly, despite the great news, Liam is not out of the woods yet. It's not like she's jumping up and down. She's still very sick and is hooked to many hoses and such. She still doesn't feel good more than she does,
Additionally, her blood is under the microscope - literally. They discovered two things, which might be linked:
1. Aluminum traces in her blood. Probably from a medication she received.
2. She produces enough red blood cells, but they disappear somewhere.
Nevertheless, these are the first good news in months so we are thrilled - to say the least.
And now it's a beautiful Friday afternoon, but instead of drinking beer on my porch, I'm here with my little vomiting buddy. Rachel got the night off. Well deserved and needed, but also a strategic move. You see, she doesn't know yet that Arsenal FC plays Barcelona on Passover night. I've gotta soften the blow somehow.
Meanwhile Liam isn't sleeping. Beside the nausea from the dialysis, her days and nights are reversed.
The Laundry Basket Guide to Cryptography
Back in the kibbutz everybody's cloths were tagged with numbers. Moishe is 56, Sarah is 33, etc. Every Saturday you through your dirty cloths into the appropriate bin in the central laundry facility. Every following Friday you picked them up from the shelves with your number on it in the main distribution facility.
My cloths are no longer marked with a number, but the old number is still with me, And every time I need to enter a password somewhere, I encrypt it with my old laundry number. So now the hackers among you know how to break my code. All you need is to get my old laundry number. This is easy. Somewhere in Atlanta there's a homeless wearing my old shirt - the one I lost in the battle for my financial freedom, remember? Now go get it.
But now I jinxed it all once again since Liam's having a shitty night.
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