Okay, it's been a while. A long while. No excuses, I'm basically lazy as a snake in August, but it has been a busy year. Let's get into the Wayback Machine and take a look, shall we?

March, April, May - Not much, just another birthday for Yours Truly (49!) and various and sundry crap from the world as a whole. Well, not entirely true. Upon examination by a qualified doc, what I thought was a hemmerhoid turns out to be a deep-rooted infection that requires surgery to correct. Long story short (and memory being the not so perfect device it once was), all is corrected and I now have a perfect a**hole. No jokes, please.

June - We suffered another loss in June. Little Derrick, age 10-1/2, passed away on June 16 after suffering massive system failure. Derrick is in a much better place now, where he won't be confined to a wheelchair and will have no trouble talking to anyone he desires. Rest well, little trooper - your struggle is over.

July - The Better Half is diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Surgery follows shortly after the diagnosis, and radiation treatment a month after surgery. According to the doctor, the possibility of recurrence is less than 1%.

August - The Better Half is suffering from PAD, peripheral artery disease, and she needs to have stents put into both femoral arteries. Day surgery is sufficient to take care of this problem, and she now has circulation back in both legs and feet.

September - Nothing, thank the Lord.

October - Quiet first half of the month. Last week of the month, The Better Half's father goes into the hospital and eventually has to have four toes amputated due to poor circulation (yes, he's diabetic).

November so far - The Better Half and I fly to Yuma, AZ to attend Rich the Marine's birthday ball. The Marine Corps Ball, I mean. Yes, we had a good time, and yes, I still hate to fly. If God had meant me to fly, he'd have given me wings or a rocket up my ass.

Sarah Rose had surgery on her hip on the 8th, three days after our return from Yuma. (Can you say jet lag? Sure you can.) The doctors went in and put a plate and screw in her hip to hold it in place. Sounds wonderful. Now she's in a double cast from upper thigh to foot with a bar between her lower legs to hold her legs in optimal position for the hip to heal in place.

As you can tell, things have been pretty hectic at the cave the last few months. I'll try to get this thing back on track one of these days, but no promises.  ¶ 10:19 PM 3 comments

  Sarah had surgery on Tuesday to screw her hip back into place. She came home from the hospital yesterday, and I was never more glad to see someone than I was to see her back in her crib in her room. Last night we finally got her situated on her stomach (which is harder than it sounds, seeing that she's wearing a spica cast on both legs), and she settled down to sleep. I gave her her meds about 11 PM and then proceeded to fix her bag for the night (she eats by G-tube). Around 11:30 I went from the kitchen to the nursery to set her bag up. Everyone else in the house was asleep by then. I hung her bag by the crib, threaded the line through the pump, and did the rest of the setup to prepare her to be fed. I got the line connected to the G-tube, started the pump, and made sure everything was working properly. All this time Sarah is sleeping away, sucking on her pacifier. I must have stood there for 10 minutes or so just looking at her, sleeping peacefully, knowing that her wants and needs will be taken care of by two people who love and care for her. That's when reality slapped me upside the head - this is what I put up with all the daily bullshit for. Not for more money, a bigger house, or a nicer car. I put up with it to provide for her, her and the rest of my kids. It's amazing the revelations that hit you in the wee hours of the morning. I went to bed and went to sleep content with myself and the world.  ¶ 7:00 PM 0 comments