One for the road...

Bryan should be flying in tomorrow from Portland in the afternoon.(If this storm doesn't stop him) And then Sunday early morning we leave for Cleveland and then off to Vermont for interviews and a mini vacation for us. We will be back on Friday, Dec. 7th, just in time for Bryan's interview at the U on Saturday.

This is one of my favorite pictures...




We're off!!!

Waiting Rooms...

Since all of the scary surgery things are over I felt like now I could talk a little about the waiting room during my mom and Jimmy's surgery.

First off, my sister and Bryan and I got there in enough time to go in while they prepped mom. During this they get her all gowned up, and the anesthesiologist comes in. It was a resident and a med student. They ask questions and look for where they would like to start the IV. We were there in the little room, we were talking and Bryan was trying to log into the computer!

My mom has invisable veins so it took quite a few pokes before they called the attending who put in what they call an "infant size" needle to get something started. Luckily, I have my dad's veins, which are huge and you can't miss them!

We sat and waited and my mom's parents and two sisters came back to say hi to her and to Jimmy. Before she left my mom walked over to where Jimmy was being prepped and they kissed and went on their own ways. (I think it was much too emotional to even say anything)

Then we said our good-bye's and I love you's and they took my mom, she had her MP3 player that they let her have while she was going out and when she was waking up. (This was to try and calm the nerves!)

Then we started the fun time of WAITING... we the nice waiting room and after they prepped Jimmy everyone gathered.
Picture this: Me, Noelle, Bryan, my grandparents, Uncle Chris, Aunt Teri, Aunt Mary Jule, Aunt Becky (Jimmy's wife), my cousin Jaclyn, cousins Emily (and Brock) and Kelly (Jimmy's kids) and grandma and grandpa. And then my friend Meghan came to hang out, she is a resident at the U and she came on her day off!

So we took up a large part of the room, we made a little circle, it was nice!
Jaclyn brought Green Mill pizza and cookies for lunch. (Thank goodness for MJ & Jaclyn working there!)

But the tough part, waiting. It was nice to have other people as a distraction, but you could feel the tension when the phone would ring. They would give us periodic updates what they were doing, where they were at etc. Even though you know things are going well, every time that phone rings, you can feel it.

Everytime the annoying waiting room volunteer would come over- people could not pretend they weren't nervous.

Since there were so many of us my mom wanted me to take pictures of the "party" that she was missing, so here they are:







Since things are going well, it is much easier to look back and be okay, but it took quite a while before I was able to talk about it without getting choked up.

It's going to be a wonderful Christmas!

Brock made the Blog!!

This is my cousin's little boy, Brock. He is making his blog debut!
(See Em, he made the blog!)

Thankful

~The Thanksgiving table at my parents house, formerly known as my Grandparent's house! My Grandparents always talked about how important setting the table is and making it a beautiful place to eat, talk and laugh!



~This is one of my favorite pictures. This is my mom's family, all her brothers and sisters and their parents! As you can see, my uncle Jimmy is taking my mom's kidney in the picture! How perfect!

*This year really brings a whole new meaning of being thankful for our family. We found out yesterday that Jimmy's numbers look good and he is able to stay at home and not have to keep coming down to the hospital to get blood tests! So now they have a health aid come out to do that and he is at home!
Now that is something to be thankful for!

~What I am thankful for this year~
*My husband- dealing with the stress of interviews and is able to be himself!
*My sister and Rian- thank goodness for Rian, he makes me sister so happy and that makes me happier than I can say! And my sister's ability to roll with the punches, and being able to read my mind. We can have a half a conversation that no one understands but us!
*My parents- like always, they are there for us, emotionally, financially and just wonderful!
*Health- my mom's, Jimmy's, and our whole family.
*Family- during the last few weeks with everything going on, it's so comforting to have your family there. To have them during the days and moments of so much stress, it's nice to have them there to lean on.
*My friends- who are the best! No matter what is going on in their lives, when you need them they are there, and you can't ask for more than that!
*This is the last Christmas in our apartment and caretaking. I am so glad we did it and saved ourselves a lot of money, but I am so glad that it is coming to an end!
*My job- I love it, I love who I work with, what I do and the people I get to interact with on a daily basis!
*Life- I have a wonderful life and I am thankful for that!

So, your turn, what are YOU thankful for?

Have a very happy, yummy and safe Thanksgiving!!

My sister has a blog...

It is too hard to resist the Blog world, and so, another one bites the dust!
Since my computer doesn't let me add links here is her blog:
http://noellemarie-piecesofme.blogspot.com/

Love you!

P.S. Does anyone watch The Bachelor? Wow!

Interview season

So far Bryan has interviews at the following places:

~U of MN
~Mayo Clinic
~Kansas City
~Medical College of WI
~Yale
~Pittsburgh
~Vermont
~Cleveland Clinic
~Seattle (I forgot the name of the hospital)
~Portland
~Seattle
~Nebraska

We will be dropping a couple of these cities since it gets quite expensive to fly and stay in all of these cities in a month's time. I will be going to Clevland and Vermont and we will stay in Vermont for a few days.

*Bryan is currently at Mayo doing an anesthesia rotation and will interview there in the next couple weeks.
*Then he is off in December to travel and interview at all of these places.
*February we give them our rank list and wait until March.

~Things are starting to get back to normal, a little. Jimmy is still in the hospital and having some complications but we're hoping that after the follow up surgery yesterday they found the problem and he will be home for Thanksgiving. So please keep him in your prayers. My mom is home recovering and looking great, just worried about Jimmy.

~This week finally feels like things are getting back to normal, now I'm just waiting for a phone call from Janell and the new baby!

A couple thank you's...

I wanted to take the time to thank the people who have really helped me out through this. First of all...
~CONOR & AMY: Thank you for coming to my grandma's wake. I didn't realize how much support I needed until I had two people there who were for ME. It was a long night of taking care of my mom and trying to not think about why we were really there. Your support meant the world to me and seeing you both there really reminded me what good friends you are. You just showed up, I didn't have to ask, you just knew that I needed it and you did it. I love you both so much! Thank you for the sweet card, it didn't make me cry like the email, thank goodness, I couldn't take much more of that!
And Ame, your parents are so sweet, sending my mom a beautiful bouquet!

~JANELL: For being the farthest away I felt all your prayers and thoughts. Not that you don't have anything else on your mind right now. You called me to check up on me, even knowing that I might not be able to talk. You called my mom, and of course cried! You know when to call and what to say and I love you for that!

CARRIE: Thank you for making food for my parents and the sweet card to my mom. Thank you for the card for me, I needed it and it helped so much. Thank you for calling and listening. Thank you for giving updates to the people who called, since I wasn't up to talking about it two more times.

BETH: Thank you for the sweet card, my sister saw it on my table and felt so happy that you included her- I really appreciate it!

Thank you so much! This has been a really difficult time for me and my family.

My Mom is doing well and recovering at home.
My Unlce is still in the hospital. He had a mass next to the kidney that they had to drain. They think that the mass was putting pressure on the kidney and that's why it wasn't working as well as it should be. So hopefully the numbers will start to get better and he can go home soon. Please keep him in your prayers.

All of this makes you realize the wonderful people in your life and what's really important. Don't take one day for granted.

A very long four days...

I just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for my family during my mom and uncle's surgery. Everything went well. My mom is home resting and getting stronger! My uncle should be out of the hospital today or tomorrow.

To add to the stress of two relatives in surgery at the same time, we had to go to my grandma's house Thursday night while the priest came to give my grandma (My dad's mom) last rights. She passed on Saturday night at home.

It's been a very stressful, emotional and busy few days, to say the least. Bryan had to leave last night for Rochester where he is doing a rotation at Mayo. But he should be able to come back for the funeral on Wednesday.

So thank you for all your thoughts and prayers... keep 'em coming!

My grandma's obit:
http://www.legacy.com/twincities/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=97341752