I just saw the most ridiculous thing! There was a duck outside my window at the top of the palm tree! There had been some squawking, very loud, in the yard and I wasn't sure what type of bird it was. And voila! right outside my window, higher up than the house, was the duck.
Who would have expected it?
Actually, we live in a community where there is a golf course--it was near both my old house and my new one. Anthony and I used to crack up because there was a drake (boy duck) who would just stand in the middle of the road and act like he owned it. He would take his sweet time to cross the street after staring our car down. And this was the busy road we would take to get to the highway to go to work and to school. We grew to love those ducks!
But today? That was the first time I ever saw one here in our new neighborhood.
What a treat...
Yesterday was a beautiful day. We went to visit my mother and celebrate with the family all the February birthdays! My sister, my niece and my son all are born that month. Anthony picked a beautiful cake that was both chocolate and vanilla, and the bakers wrote all three names on it. There were three strawberries on top too.
Mom was so happy, and everyone enjoyed being there. Her neighbors are very kind. We talked to them over the fence and mom wanted us to share some of the cake with them. I took a piece to their house at her request.
Mom was on dialysis for two years, then she had a kidney transplant from a cadaveric donor. My niece too, has had a kidney transplant with her father as the donor.
So as a family member, and as a physician, it just struck me that there are many people in China who are on hemodialysis. And with the quarantine, they can't go. This means that the wastes and fluids back up in the system, and get extremely toxic in a few days.
So lets have a moment of silence for all who are suffering, who are innocent, and are collateral damage from the virus, due to being quarantined, are unable to receive their life-saving medical care. For any reason.
Let this add to the gratitude for our liberties, and our blessings.
It was a wonderful, wonderful day with my family. One sister had to work but her husband and daughter came. Anthony wanted Kentucky Fried Chicken because we used to always have it when we would go to my Nanna Angelina's house, or to his grandma's (my mom). That was his birthday wish, to be with family. And I've never seen my sister happier than blowing out the cake together after we sang them both Happy Birthday!!! She was glowing. She is Anthony's godmother as well as his aunt.
Enjoy these special times.
Mom isn't looking so good. She has pallor. She got short of breath going up the front steps. I stayed with her a long time after everyone else left. I waited until she was ready to change into her nightgown and robe. She was okay with those activities. And when I got home, she told me to put my hair in a ponytail for her. Yesterday I had been to the hairstylist and had a nice blowout. Since I wear my hair in a bun and a surgical cap every day, I wanted to enjoy my hair down. 'You have a nice face, Carla, you shouldn't cover it up with your hair.'
Always the mom to me.
I'm so grateful to have her.
Ross wants me to talk with him about her today. He started to, and I just threw my arms around his neck and started crying and saying 'mommy, mommy'. I really love her a lot. It's so hard with dad being gone. He's been gone ten years now.
Ross wants me to remind you of my mother's courage. She has two life threatening conditions. An aging kidney graft. And critical aortic stenosis. You can easily fix the aortic stenosis, even with minimal invasiveness--but the contrast dye hurts kidneys. Mom wanted to keep her kidney and not go on dialysis. Ross says when the heart is tight enough in the aortic valve, the kidney will fail, and that will be it.
Fortunately, kidney failure is a nice way to go. You just fade out.
The same is true with pneumonia, or overwhelming sepsis.
Ross assures us that in heaven all health is perfect, every day, and there are no exceptions.
He says our bodies fail but our hearts live on forever.
That is enough for today.
clap! clap!
Aloha and Mahalos,
Namaste,
Peace,
Ross and Carla
The Family who will love you every day, always and forever
