Daughters

Update On Emily

They operated on her at about 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. She had two brain bleeds which is a type of stroke. They cut out a section of her skull to relieve the pressure on her brain. When they opened her skull they could see the clot on her right temporal lobe, which was the largest one, and were able to remove it. The other one was on the frontal lobe and they could not see it, so were not able to remove it.

After the surgery, they did an angiogram to make sure there were no other weak spots. None were found, so we asked what could have caused this in such a young woman. The answer is, that she just delivered a baby via C-section. She is 37 years old, she had preeclampsia, and placenta previa. Any one of those factors increases risk of stroke after delivery of a baby. Add to that that she had a C-section and her risk of stroke is 67% higher than if she had a vaginal delivery.

I was allowed to see her around 7 p.m. When I arrived in her room, although I knew it would scary, it was horrible to see her like that. There were two technicians putting EEG monitors on her head, and you could tell by the way she was grimacing and struggling to get away that she did not like it. I rubbed her shoulder and held her hand and talked to her and she calmed down, so I definitely know she knew I was there.

While she looks horrible to me, I know she is getting better. She was able to respond appropriately to basic commands just hours after the surgery. Late yesterday afternoon, they removed the ventilator tube and she was able to whisper and give short answers to questions. The doctor still says she is not out of the woods yet, but she is definitely improving.

She will have a long recovery. She will stay in the hospital for 10 days to two weeks, depending on how well she does. After that, she will spend a month in rehab. She will have to go in for a second surgery to replace the piece of her skull that was removed. They save her bone and put it in deep freeze saving it for the time it can be replaced. This all sounds like Frankenstein to me, but it what they do routinely.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and concern for my daughter and her family. I really appreciate it.

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A Mother’s Nightmare

Karen · 12 Comments

I got that call in the middle of the night that we all as mothers dread. My daughter’s father in law called to tell me that she had passed out, and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I thanked him or calling and asked him to call me Ian’s soon as they heard anything from Thomas, my son-in-law.

The call was about an hour later. She has had a stroke, possibly caused by a blood clot from the Ceasarean surgery ten days ago when the baby was born. Fabgrandpa nd I got up and dressed and drove to Atlanta to be there with Thwhile to wait for the doctor to kelt us know what is going to happen next. We have been here for five hours now and still waiting.

If you pray, or send healing thoughts, or send good vibes, or whatever it is that you do, please do it for Emily and her family now.

I’ll update when I know more.

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Have You Heard?

Karen · 5 Comments

My youngest daughter, Emily, is having a baby. We are extra super excited to be welcoming this new Tater Bean on 2/21/13. Emily went to her ultrasound appointment last Friday, and got very good news. The baby has an excellent heartbeat, and was kicking its little legs and actually turned a flip while it was on the Ultrasound screen.

She didn’t tell anyone until she reached 13 weeks, so I was so excited to hear the news and get first photos (ok, ultrasound photos).

Unfortunately, I can’t sew anything for this new baby until I get home to Georgia, so I am going to be crocheting some booties, a hat, and a sweater. And, because I am so excited, I am participating in another online Baby Shower Event, this time to help out Henrietta at A Hen’s Nest. This Baby Gift Guide starts on August 24, 2012, and the last product will be posted on September 3, 2012. All giveaways will be ending on September 24, 2012.

It is so amazing to me to see all the nifty baby products on the market these days. It’s been 37 years since I had a baby around, so there has been plenty of new things developed. How on earth did we ever manage back in the 70’s???

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Congratulations Are In Order!

Karen · 11 Comments

ob appointment, ultrasound, pregnancy confirmed — That's Emily in the exam room

This was a very special day for me. Yes, I know I just had a special day last month when we closed on our house, but this is even more special-er than that! Today I was invited to go to my daughter, Emily’s, OB appointment with her. Today was the day that she got to see, via ultrasound, that there is indeed a little Fab-grandchild a baking away! While this will be grandchild number six, I have never been in the right place at the right time to get to be there when the ultrasound was done. We both cried. Yeah, we are silly like that.

ob appointment, exam room — Waiting for the doctor to come in

She was a very good sport and allowed me to take pictures of her in the exam room. Can you tell how happy she is?

The doctor was a very nice and pleasant guy. He answered all of Emily’s questions to her satisfaction. He explained to her that whenever someone over 35 years old is pregnant, they call her an “elderly mother”. We got a huge laugh out of that, because if SHE is elderly, what does that make ME??? OH, and baby is due August 26th.

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Just Another Day On The Job

Karen · 3 Comments

Today was my first day of work for the season. We did the usual stuff–saying hello to everyone that came back from last year, meeting the new people, telling what we did on vacation. (or in this case, over the winter). The weather up here at the North Rim has been sunny and gorgeous every day since FabGrandpa and I arrived back on April 25. But today? It snowed!

snow at the north rim — Snow at the North Rim

Can’t tell much from that photo, but it did snow, off and on, all day. It was cold out there, too. Walking back and forth from the RV to the fee office was a brisk adventure.

I got mail today, too. Lots of it. Bills, magazines, and Mother’s Day cards from the girls and Seth. And these loverly socks that Becca knitted just for me:

hand knitted socks — My loverly new socks

Does that girl take after her mama or what? Look at that cabling–she is one smart cookie!

In the afternoon, one of my co-workers and I walked over to the emergency services building to pick up the golf carts that belong in the campground. They weren’t charged up, so we plugged them in and walked back. While it was sort of chilly out, and snowing, I really need to get out and walk more. Don’t know that I will do that again tomorrow, but for today, yeah.

Tonight, I made some home made gluten free banana muffins to take to class in the morning. There are two of us who can’t eat wheat. Today, someone brought biscotti to eat with the coffee, which we couldn’t have. So, tomorrow, we’ll have something, too.

banana gluten free muffins — Gluten Free Banana Muffins

You know, when something like that happens, the person who brought the goodies always feels like they need to apologize to me (and others) because I can’t eat whatever they brought. The way I see it, is that I am the one with the special diet, so it is up to ME to make sure I have something to eat at times like that. It is MY responsibility to make something to take. I always share whatever I have, because most times it is good, even if it IS gluten free, and I can let my friends and co-workers see that I am not being deprived because I have to eat something different. Something that is not doughnuts or biscotti. And this recipe is so easy and quick to make.

Pamela’s Muffins

1 1/4 cup Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

1 banana, mashed.

1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients well, spoon into a muffin pan, bake for 22 minutes at 350 degrees. Done, and it makes 6 muffins.

Tomorrow, we’ll have a goodie too, to go along with that B.O.R.I.N.G training.

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Boots, Bras, and Barbecue

Karen · 7 Comments

When we got to town yesterday, I had a shopping date with my daughter, Emily and my friend, Suzanne. We went to the mall so I could shop for boots and bras. Yeah, my two favorite things in the world to shop for. Not!

Last year, we went to a shoe store in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to buy our boots for the job. I bought Wolverines on the recommendation of someone who has worn them all their working life, and paid quite a bit for them. They were comfortable and fit the criteria of being brown polishable boots. But after only two months of wearing them on the job, they started coming apart at the seams. That left me to represent my employer in raveled, ugly boots.When I emailed Wolverine, they pretty much told me they were not going to do anything to help me, that I should expect some wear and tear on a pair of work boots. Well, yeah, but you would think that a pair of boots that cost over a hundred dollars would last more than two months. Even at the Grand Canyon. Especially since I am required to keep them polished and clean. So, sorry, Wolverine. You don’t get any more of my money.

men-craftsman-sport-boot-dark-brown_9767076_175 — Crafstman 6" Sport Boot

This year, I bought a pair of Craftsmen 6″ Sport Boots from Sears. They looked pretty good on me, were comfortable, and were on sale. I hope they last through the season. If they don’t, I hope that Sears will stand behind their product.

After spending half the day finding boots, it was time to shop for the dreaded undergarments. And you know what a hard time I have shopping for bras! I wanted to buy five new ones, but it seems that most of the women in this town wear the same size as me. With three of us searching, I could only find two bras in my size. Sad but true. At least I didn’t come away empty handed.

After the shopping trip, we all went to our favorite barbecue joint, Hudson’s. It was delicious as usual. I have to tell you about Suzanne. We met over 40 years ago when we were both working at Southern Bell. She was my first room mate when I moved out of my parents house. We kept in touch with each other for about 10 years but then lost each other as life went on. Then, a couple of years ago, we hooked up on Facebook. Yesterday was the first time we had seen each other in at least 30 years! It was really fun to see her again.

me and my first roomie — Suzanne, her husband, Bob, and me. She was my first room mate way back then.

My son in law Tommy and grandson, Spencer met us at the restaurant, too.

Spencer is like most other third graders I have known, and puts off doing his homework as long as possible. But because Emily is a teacher, she makes sure he does it. Here he is working on his homework while we waited to be served last night.

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The Tote Bag Project Is Finished

Karen · 8 Comments

recycled military uniform — Military Uniform Recycled Into a Tote Bag

A while back, my daughter in law asked me if I could make a tote bag for her out my son’s old Air Force uniform. I told her I would certainly try. She left the design and colors up to me. This turned out really cute! I had wanted to use the waistband from the pants around the top of the bag, and put an orange grosgrain ribbon through it, but I couldn’t figure out how to add it without messing up the handles. Oh well, it’s still cute!

recycled military uniform tote bag — This is a large tote bag

When I received the old uniform, I cut off the pockets and the various patches, and reused them on the outside of the bag. My son’s last name on the pocket makes this a really personalized bag for Sarah. The pattern I had did not have that fabric stripe near the bottom, but once I got the pieces cut out, it looked like it could use a touch of color, so I added it in.

military uniform tote bag — Lots of pockets inside

The bag has lots of pockets on the inside, too. And believe it or not, the whole thing is reversible, so Sarah can have two looks out of this bag if she wants to.

air force uniform recycled as tote bag — This is a large bag!

The finished bag is very big! She will be able to carry everything she needs for her two little ones in it. The straps are long enough to wear over the body, or on the shoulder. I am really pleased with the way this turned out. And yes, if anyone wants one, you have to send me an old uniform, and we can discuss what type of bag you want made. Price depends on what you want done.

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Sadness At The Fab Household

Karen · 10 Comments

It has only been a couple of weeks since I announced that we would be grandparents again. My beautiful daughter, Emily told us after nine long years that she would be blessed with a new baby. She told me a few days ago that the baby is not to be. We both cried, and I wished like crazy I could be there to hold her in my arms and comfort her. I have been sad for her since then, and wanted to give her a few days to absorb her loss before I wrote about it. I know she will never forget that little life. Neither will I.

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