Memory from this summer.

12/23/13  A little touch in from the ‘peanut gallery’ ala howdie doodie

In a hand made bag delivered to Shann’ss hospital room the other day is a collection of a dozen small hand made gifts offered out by the PNNAG—a local needle arts guild—with a lovely letter, a portion of which follows:

“The gifts in this bag are for you to give away or keep…..The giving of gifts is an important part of winter holidays in most cultures.  Making and shopping for gifts are two of the pleasures of the season.  Many years ago, one of our members was a nurse at the bone marrow transplant unit—-she noticed that patients and families experienced isolation from the gifting activities of the holiday season.  Patients’  energy was put into regaining health and family energy was directed toward support of their loved ones.  The impulse to give was there, but there was no time or energy to spare in crafting or shopping for tokens of esteem and affection.  Higher priority must be given to the task of healing.—-there is a saying that a gift blesses the giver as well as the recipient.  May the blessings of the season be with all of us”

I can only say that the gift bag and the letter have touched me deeply.  Unknown to me, unnamed ‘elves’ have been working away selflessly through the year to bring a cancer patient and her husband a touch of joy.  It has worked!  I would like to challenge myself along with any readers, to take this example out into our world and do selfless acts of kindness  on a daily basis: hold the door for someone; let a car merge in from a side street; smile at the world; put a buck in the struggling persons mitt;  mentor a kid or hang out with an elder; do some good work for our over worked and under appreciated natural environment—-the list goes on

My birthday treat. Chocolate cake, strawberries, whipped cream.

AS for Shann;  she is making positive progress.  Her O2 levels are climbing back up into the mid 90’s with less and less assistance from artificial sources.  Her RSV is at the very least  been slowed, and has not gone deeper into her lungs.  We are awaiting the most recent echo grams, which will tell us how the fluid around her heart is faring.  The thrice daily regime with the Ribovirum continues.  She is still in isolation and not seeing anyone but her ‘hubby’ and the network of medical care providers.  Not sure when she will be ready to make the move out of the hospital and back to the island—we’ll keep you posted.

Cheers!    Sgp

P.S. From Shann—I have been told I am optimistic. And so I believe we will be home on or before Christmas. Or thereabouts. We are in The Pause now, when Solstice time slows down on either side—darkness fades slowly and light returns also slowly. A good time to an optimist.