Goodbye!

I've loved this chance to keep you updated on my family, but I think it's time to let things go. I realize that every person has their own dramas and things to deal with, and perhaps my family would like a break from seeing their personal lives here on a daily basis. So feel free to e-mail or call if you'd like like. I'll be glad to keep you updated that way. But it's time to put this baby to bed. Thanks for the prayers. We appreciate you all so much.

It's flu season!

Well, yesterday sure didn't turn out like we expected. Bethany woke up violently ill around 3am and didn't stop throwing up all day. When she was curled up in pain and crying at 1pm, we decided to make sure it wasn't something worse than the flu and I called urgent care and the Dr's office...both were too busy to see her. So we headed to the ER ("her" ER--the one where she works on Saturdays.) We were stuck in the waiting room for about 45 minutes waiting for triage when someone she works with recognized her. She said, "there ought to be some perks for volunteering here" and she got us right into a trauma room--totally bypassed triage! Of course Bethany was treated like a VIP! The biggest concern was that it might be her appendix, so they did a CAT scan. Turns out it's just a nasty viral infection that has to run its course. After 2 liters of saline, morphine, tylenol, anti-nausea medicine x 2, they finally released us with 3 prescriptions to fill. She's hungry, but afraid to eat. I'm hungry, too, but if I'm gonna get this, I sure don't want much in my stomach. We'll just lay low today and see how it goes. For once, I'm glad Brian isn't here. Hopefully the worst will be behind us by the time he gets back from Korea on Saturday.

We have such awesome friends/neighbors/family who rallied around us and it was a comfort to know I had options if we needed additional help. But as I told Brian, we've handled far more than the flu and we just deal with whatever life brings. It's not like we have a choice, is it?! To those of you who knew what was going on, thanks for the prayers. To my sweet friends whose son's funeral I missed yesterday, my thoughts were with you. I'll hug on you when I see you the next time.

Love to all....we're blessed!

After lots of phone tag with Amy's local primary care doctor and the Mayo Clinic, I'm a bit frustrated to say that things aren't looking good for a December visit with pain management. Evidently the only thing we can sign Amy up for is a 3 week "how to live with pain" clinic. Seriously? They won't schedule a pain consultation, which I don't understand at all. We were really hoping someone there could tell us whether or not we'd exhausted our options as far as pain treatments go. Our PCM said they'd be very specific and ask for a consult, but it's been several days and I haven't heard anything else from Mayo. Recently Brian brought home a 5280 magazine (a Denver magazine) and it listed the top Dr's in the Denver area. There were 3 pain mgmt ones, so perhaps that's where we should try next. I find it hard to believe that Amy's pain is getting so much worse and there's not a darn thing that can be done about it. For goodness sakes, she's only 19 years old and has her whole life ahead of her!

On November 1st Amy will meet with administrators, the head chef, and the disability office lady, Jean, to see if the school will approve a different kind of internship for her. The normal requirement is 35-40 hours weekly in a kitchen, but there's just no way Amy would be able to do that. So she's asked to be approved for a food writing one instead with minimal kitchen time. Whatever they decide to do here will set a precedent, so they're taking their time and thinking it all thru. I'm not holding my breath, but then again, I am. If they approve the adjustment, she'll be allowed to graduate (assuming she makes it thru labs.) If they tell her no, then she won't be able to graduate with a culinary degree. So we're hoping and praying they'll see what an asset she can be to the culinary world despite her challenges...that it would make them look good to have her graduate. That's my prayer for our girl.

The other news for the Anderson family is that it appears we'll be moving to Utah next summer shortly after Laura & Ian's wedding. The company Brian works for asked him to be the site director for a new division they want to stand up at Hill AFB in Salt Lake City. He loves new challenges and he's excited about the possibilities. We'll all rally around him and this great opportunity. Timing will be a bit nerve-wracking, but we'll make the best of it. In the springtime we'll be planning the wedding, going to bridal showers, going to graduation at Mines and JWU, putting the house on the market, and having a wedding. Shortly afterward Laura & Ian will head to places unknown, and we'll head south so Bethany can start her senior year in a new place. We're hoping to take Amy with us so she can look for a job there and possibly work on some English classes at Weber State University. So many changes! If I think about the details too much, I don't sleep too well at night. I'm learning to do my best praying in the middle of the night!

And there you have it...the many crazy things going on in our lives. Never a dull moment, eh?!!

Laura

Ok, usually Laura hates it when I mention her or brag on her in my blog, but I think it's time. This week she was notified that she is one of the top 50 female student leaders in construction and engineering and was selected to attend the 3rd Annual Women's Construction Leadership Seminar sponsored by Kiewit Corporation, the organization she worked for during the summer. And did I mention they already made her an offer for AFTER graduation? (Sorry, Laura...I had to brag a little.) Yes, my sweet, quiet little Laura is going to be working in construction and she can hardly wait! So about 3 weeks after her wedding, she and Ian will be headed to parts unknown (but possibly New Orleans) to begin their life together. Remember how exciting it was to be a young newlywed and just starting out life together? I sure do! Coming up on 26 years ago, as a matter of fact.

Chef update...

I haven't updated you lately on how the chef is doing mainly because she's been in academics this trimester and physically it hasn't been as challenging. And now that she has "Leo", her wheelchair, she's able to head off the pain in her feet/ankles much of the time. For instance, if she knows she'll be on her feet a lot or will need to drive somewhere later in the day, she'll use Leo early in the day so the pain levels are manageable. She used to have to keep plugging along and then deal with the pain afterward with ice/drugs. Now she can head it off. I'm sure it confuses the other students on campus when sometimes they see her in a wheelchair and sometimes she's walking across campus like it's no big deal. More than one student has come up to her to ask if she's just goofing off with the wheelchair. Surely she doesn't really need one. No doubt she gets tired of having to explain it. And unless you've been along for her journey for the past 3 years, I'm not sure it's possible to understand it.
Amy wraps up her academic trimester in mid-November and begins culinary labs soon afterward. No doubt it's weighing heavily on her mind. Last year during labs she was in constant pain and then had to deal with the lymph node/cancer scare. And this year she has to make up one of the segments she missed during that time. She's going to give it her best shot and will just have to take it one day at a time. Because she's beginning to feel "secondary symptoms" of her pain disorder, we've decided to try to get her back to the Mayo Clinic...this time to be seen by pain mgmt specialists. The location in Phoenix doesn't have a pain mgmt dept, so we'll have to schedule this visit with the Rochester, MN clinic. I discovered this week that a Dr referral is needed in order for her to be seen, so on Wednesday that was faxed over. I can't call again until Monday at the earliest to set up the appointment; they need time to process the referral. The only chunk of time Amy has during the school year is the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, so that's what we're shooting for. We'll try our darndest to get affordable flights, but given that it's a busy time for travelers, we might have to take our chances with winter weather and drive it...14 hours each way across the plains of Nebraska. So I guess we have a couple of prayer requests currently...that we can make an appointment sooner rather than later and that we can find affordable flights. As we get closer our prayer will be for good travel conditions...whether we fly or drive. Amy has to be back in labs on 4 January, so we don't have a lot of wiggle room with our time.
Thanks for being faithful with your prayers. I'm amazed at how many people ask about Amy and are holding her close in thought and prayer. What a blessing to us when we know no one is exempt from needing prayer support. By the way, Amy sends out e-mail updates about once a week from school just to let friends/family know how life is on campus. If you'd like to receive these e-mails, feel free to contact me with your e-mail address and I'll make sure you're added. (Yes, she gave me permission to tell you about the updates.)
Ok, hopefully you feel updated. It was kind of nice to relax a bit lately...nothing major to talk about. Calm is good!

Chile rescue

Is everyone else as captivated by the rescue of the miners in Chile as I am? I'm finding this quite fascinating and I can hardly focus on anything else right now. What a miracle this is! I can't even fathom the emotions of those who are key players in this drama. It's been just incredible. Twenty-eight miners rescued so far. Wow! It's easy to get caught up in the joy and excitement of this success story. What we need to keep in mind, however, is that it's all unfolding just as God intends. He's chosen to bless this mission so far, but even if things go south before it's all over, He's still in control and His plan is still perfect. I hope and pray for continued success. But I'll still praise Him if things change in the next few hours. And now...back to the live coverage!

How much can I pack into 24 hours, anyway?

Yesterday it was all about Bethany's 17th birthday, beginning with making french silk chocolate pie in the morning...her favorite. Is my youngest really 17? She's growing up so beautifully, and I adore her! Last night her boyfriend, best friend and her parents, and my mom & dad came over for pie. Lots of laughs and love as we honored this awesome girl.
Today I picked up mom & dad and we headed to Denver to spend the day with Amy. She needed groceries and hugs from home, and we were happy to oblige. We met one of her favorite people on campus, Professor Wells. If only I'd had such teachers when I was in college...what a great guy! I can see why she loves his classes. We also met Jean, the disability lady who is trying so hard to make the campus more accessible for Amy. She's a great advocate for our girl and speaks quite highly of her. After pushing Amy in her wheelchair today I can see how frustrating things are...ramps that are steep and difficult to maneuver...buttons which are supposed to open doors but aren't working...ramps that lead to stairs...etc. It's all difficult and change is very slow in coming. But together Jean and Amy are determined to work on the things that are so important to anyone in a wheelchair. It'll happen, but it won't happen quickly enough for our girl, I'm afraid. Still, she keeps smiling and impacting those she comes into contact with on campus...we heard wonderful things about our girl from those who are blessed to know her.
The highlight of Amy's day was receiving her first set of wheels which we bought yesterday...a 2009 PT Cruiser. Now she'll have options other than places on the bus line when it's time to do her internship. She won't have to rely on Phil or her other friends to get her to the grocery. And when she needs to go to the various restaurants that she needs to write reviews for, she can drive herself! We named her car "Ruby", and she and Amy look quite good together!

I know, I know...it's been almost a week since I last wrote. Sorry. My computer was crazy this week and kept locking up on me. There was very little I could do, and my "tech support" was in Utah until Friday evening. Thankfully, Laura & Ian came home and spent many, many hours getting my laptop up and working again. It was a painful process...there was SO much to do! But now I'm back, and I'm a happy girl! I've become a geek just like the rest of my family, I'll admit it. I was rather lost until they got me up and running again.
It was wonderful to see Laura & Ian. They hadn't been home since school began in early August, so it was wonderful to wrap my arms around them. They worked really hard on homework so they could just relax when they got here. Yeah, I know...they worked on my computer. But to a Mines student, that IS relaxing! At one point we had 5 laptops open and it really was a geekfest! Ian did manage to play paintball for part of the weekend, so it wasn't all work. And Laura was able to try on her wedding dress; it was quite stunning on her. We never really did get to talk about wedding plans, but that's ok. There's still time.
Brian is enjoying being home again after being away all but 18 hours in the past 3 weeks. He'll be teaching online from home this week. Since he'll be here to keep an eye on Annie and to get Bethany to/from school, I'm going to head to Denver on Wednesday with my parents to take our chef to lunch and to the grocery. She really wants me to meet a couple of people on campus, so this will be a good chance to do so. She's holding up ok despite the insane amount of homework she's trying to keep up with. Did I mention she's taking 22.5 academic hours this trimester? So far, so good, but it wears me out to think about it! Ah, to be young again!
Bethany has been counting down the hours until her boyfriend gets home from visiting his mom in Alabama. He's been gone almost a month and will roll in tomorrow evening just in time to celebrate her 17th birthday on Tuesday. How did our youngest get this age when she was just a baby the other day?!!
I'm doing well...Annie's doing well, too. It's been a sweet few days.