I've been meaning to post for quite some time now. it's been almost a month since I last wrote and when I did I was lamenting how I was heading into a ridiculously long work stretch that included a trip to New Orleans for a conference and a 24 hour shift at the end that made me feel ready to sleep in a big puffy coat like Adler.
Well, I did work a lot, and I did go to New Orleans. But, I didn't end it all with a 24 hour shift at work. I ended it with almost 24 hours of awake time, but it was not at work. It was instead a cross country trip all too familiar to me, heading back to Seattle for reasons I never want to travel back for. We got some terrible news at the end of March. Tom's dad was diagnosed with Stage 3 pancreatic cancer.
I had been waiting to post on the blog (and also didn't have time to post) because Tom and I have been processing.
Once again, Adler seems to be the shining light through it all. She's the reason I find joy each day when my heart feels heavy.
Tom traveled back to Seattle before I did to spend some time with John and Katie, and to get some affairs in order. We are kind of numb to the fact that we just did this. It feels like yesterday that we were in Seattle for Diana's passing. I flew back with Adler for a whirl-wind weekend trip
Besides some low grade fevers and explosive diarrhea every 2-3 hours while en route, she did so wonderfully on the plane. It again makes me say that I have the best daughter ever!
She brings joy to pretty much any room she enters, and John's hospital room was no exception.
While we were home we also got to introduce Adler to the rest of the family that had yet to meet her.
Aunt Ann and Tim hosted a wonderful Easter egg hunt for Tim's family and we got to crash the party too. The sun was shining and for a brief moment all the messes in the world melted away and we just enjoyed the company, good food and good weather.
We said our goodbyes to John and the pacific northwest all too soon so I could make it back for work
. At that time John was recovering pretty well and was slated to be discharged not long after. But things have changed. Currently John is in the ICU, intubated and very very ill. We don't know if he'll be able to recover from an infection that developed because of the severity of the blockage in his bile duct from the cancer. It's now a waiting game to see if he will pull through this infection or not. It's no doubt that the pancreatic cancer diagnosis will take him from us much faster than anyone expected but this infection is threatening to hasten the end all the more.
We stepped out into the brisk, but pleasant sunshine (after snow yesterday) to get a breath of both literal and figurative fresh air.
We were joined by all our friends both canine and human as we played on the playground together
Hank is still afraid of most things, including babies, so he tends to revert into being a bit of a baby himself :). Despite his size he prefers to be held by Jimmy
It was fun to act like a kid again. And it made Tom and I excited to go and play with Adler when she's a bit older too. (But she can wait awhile to get older, I'm not rushing her into it!)
We are trying to keep perspective. We are trying to remember that life is precious and snuggle up to our baby girl all the more because of it.
It feels almost calloused to post about my conference trip to New Orleans, but I don't anticipate I'll have the time nor the energy to go back and post about it later so here it goes
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| Next year the conference is in Honolulu--you can bet we're counting on going! |
I traveled down to New Orleans to attend a gynecology oncology conference. I discovered some amazing amenities in the Chicago Midway airport for pumping/nursing moms!
The amenities continued in New Orleans at the conference hotel --they had a nursing mothers room too, complete with leather gliding chairs.
Chi Fong and I both got to go and we enjoyed the 75+ degree weather and the sights of the city
And, of course, we had to get beignets at the most famous spot for them
We're so grateful for our life experiences, for our friends and family and for all the love we share with each other. Adler never go to meet one of her grandmas and will not remember meeting her grandpa and that saddens us so, so much. Cherish the time you have everyone--it is truly precious. We're ready for spring, and we're ready for our hearts to stop hurting.
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