Rapier's Wit

Maureen came through surgery like a champ. The surgeon wasn't able to perform the various procedures due to the wonky nature of the carcinoid. A biopsy was done and sent to pathology. I haven't heard the results at this time. At this point it's a matter of recovery from this surgery and consult with the oncologist team at Loyola to make a new plan of action. The abdominal mass, in essence, needs to be reduced in size so the other surgical procedures can be done. If I understand correctly, the carcinoid has a webbing effect and was leeched on to vital vessels, intestines and bowel. So, removing a large portion could lead to severe bleeding and compromise Maureen's stability while under anesthesia. The surgeon made a 2+ hour attempt to remove it without jeopardizing Maureen's health and internal organs. I spoke with Maureen today and, although groggy, she sounded as well as can be expected. If she's able to pass the tests posed to her by her doctors and ...

This is not a frivolous post. I implore anyone who reads this, regardless of your religious beliefs, to pray. If you're not one for praying, then send positive energy into the universe. My sister Maureen is undergoing a serious surgery tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Loyola University Hospital. The surgery is expected to last 3-5 hours. She'll have a tumor removed that is the size of a large grapefruit. It has compromised one of her kidneys. Therefore, they will remove the damaged one. In addition they will attempt to give her a hysterectomy. Due to excessive scar tissue this may not be possible. Depending on the damage within, she may require a colostomy. Her liver, heart, lungs are all healthy. They don't anticipate any serious problems, but during the initial discussion of the surgery they had to give the run down of the possible things that could go wrong. Even when it's a million to one chance, they have to disclose the risk ... even death. When I first heard...

I totally lifted this from my pally Jane aka Citizenjaney aka Suburban Diva . Color me lazy. Call me irresponsible. Call me any of the following names ... Let's play the Name Game, y'all! 1. Rock Star Name (first pet; current car) Kitty Saturn 2. Gangster Name (favorite ice cream flavor; favorite style of shoe) Chunky Monkey Mule 3. Native American Name (favorite color; favorite animal) Pink Tiger 4. Soap Opera Name (middle name; place of birth) Lynn Kankakee 5. Star Wars Name (first 3 letters of second name; first two of first name) Rapma 6. Superhero Name (2nd favorite color; favorite drink) Periwinkle Margarita 7. NASCAR Name (first names of grandfathers) Eugene Charles 8. Exotic Dancer Name (favorite perfume/scent; favorite "candy") Snuggle Cherry Ball 9. Newscaster name (Fifth grade teacher’s last name; major city beginning with same letter) Whitaker Warsaw 10. Spy name (favorite flower; favorite season/holiday) Daisy Fall 11. Cartoon name (favorite fruit; arti...

Part 3 in a series of however long it takes me to finish I'm about to tell you another fantastical aspect that helped make my birthday week a banner seven day stretch (and it keeps getting better) was what occurred when I texted a friend and former boss about my date. Whew! That's a winded sentence. The date guy, who shall be referred to as Sum Yung Guy -- SYG for short -- transferred to another location shortly after working with me. I had nothing to do with that, by the way. Another store closer to his home needed a lab technician with experience and we really didn't have the hours to give. My former boss had transferred there, I believe, shortly before that. Former boss, KC, and I got along swimmingly. He called me his right hand. He nicknamed me jukebox and often dropped a quarter in my pocket to encourage me to sing a song. We've remained in contact. First let me say that he was surprised; yet, happy to hear that SYG asked me out. He's a decent dude and every...

Part 2 in a series of however long it takes me to finish There are fundamental things about me that you should know: 1) I am insecure as hell. 2) I laugh when in an uncomfortable situation -- rely on comedy to rescue me. 3) I will always love music and singing. 4) When I'm comfortable, I'm totally opposite of the woman you initially met. Call me Eve or Sybil. Because of those basic aspects of my personality, I love to be on stage. For me, life has footlights, receptive audiences, an interesting supporting cast and eventually a curtain call ... let's hope the latter doesn't come for a long time. While having lunch with my family on my birthday, I was encouraged to audition for our local theater company's fall musical: STATE FAIR (Kankakee Valley Theatre Association - KVTA .) The problem was that I was already scheduled to work during the first night of auditions and I had a date for the second night. I didn't want to lose out on a chance to return to the mos...

Part 1 in a series of however long it takes me to finish Wow! Where do I begin? Let's start with the calendar beginning of the week. August 10. My sister Maureen's birthday . That in itself is a great beginning for a seven day stretch. Celebrating the anniversary of the birth of a loved one is always fantastic! Unfortunately, I had to work that day. That aspect sort of wreaked, but I trudged through and ended the very busy business day with a bang! At the time I didn't think it was potential TNT. While making eye wear I was alerted that I had a phone call. Man-cub had already called a couple of times as he was stressing about the computer getting pop-up warnings from McAfee or inquiring about what could be consumed for lunch. I answered hurriedly and mildly agitated (making eyeglasses under a time limit will do that.) The voice on the other line was not that of my offspring. A voice from the not so distant past chimed musically to my ears. A former co-worker -- short-term ...

I work with people who rarely use the internet for things other than eBay, email and Idunnowhat. If I discuss my blog, blogs I read, plurk, myspace, etc... I get the melodious sound of crickets. I found this photo while searching for funny t-shirts. This hit me to the core, folks. I think I almost shed a tear. The bottom line is that I care. So, neener neener booger eater!

Today was my 43rd birthday. I LOVE GROWING OLDER! I can't say it enough. I know it's not the common thing to say when one turns older. I'm supposed to go on about about "one more wrinkle," or "another year; another gray hair." Psh! Save it. God has given me another day on this earth and it's worthy of celebrating. That goes for all you goons who want your birthdays to pass by without notice. Pardon me, but I love my friends and family. So, if I want to make a big deal out of the anniversary of the day you were born it's my prerogative. Hmmph. And if I want to tell strangers on the street that it's my birthday I will. You can't stop me. Today was welcomed with many kind wishes and emoticons with online friends. E-cards were joyfully opened in my mailbox. Myspace, Stuck in the 80s and Pop Life bloggers wished me happy birthday. I FEEL THE LOVE! For the moment I felt like a celebrity. My sister Mary sent a text inviting us to lunch. We broke...

My sister Maureen is the kind of person you meet and immediately hope she'll be your friend. She's kind, compassionate, funny, comfortable in her dorkiness. She's an amazing mother, sister, friend, confidante. I say that with complete confidence because she has served as all those roles to me. Born August 10, 1955. She's the fourth child of eight (ten when you include later in life additions.) She has this goofy ability to close one eye while the other one remains completely open. It's creepy, but that's Reenie's trademark. Photos of her as a child reveal this endearing talent. She's considered the middle child; the peacemaker. On August 11, 1965 Maureen received a most unique gift: ME! I nearly arrived on her birthday. Due to this timing it seems we were bonded. Destined to be two peas in a pod. Wherever Moe went -- Missy followed (that's my nickname.) She never complained about having this miniature companion. If she did, she never made me feel in ...

I am in need of whimsy due to a call that I received at 3:11 p.m. central time. It's a call that I knew would come, but didn't want to take. However, avoiding the necessary wouldn't be prudent. The Asshat formerly known as Running Man (or Cute Tushy if you follow my plurks) made the error of darkening my Verizon doorstep. I haven't talked to him since July 27. He called and quickly ended the conversation with an abrupt "gotta go! can't talk. I'll talk to you later." And before I could get out the word 'bye' he was gone. At that time I shut my pink Razr phone with disbelief and irritation. A few other expletives followed; muttered under my breath. We'd hardly talked that entire week prior and no word would follow until ... ... August 1 at 11:39 p.m. a familiar chime came over the phone. I jumped with hopes it was a friend texting me from the Regeneration Tour Concert in Las Vegas. My heart fell seeing it was from Asshat Running Man (ARM from...

If possible, this blog post would be tear stained. It's hard to believe that 14 years ago I gave birth to a beautiful, brown eyed baby boy. He weighed in at 9 lbs 2 oz. At 7:10 p.m. central time on August 5, 1994, I brought another life into this world. His birth wasn't difficult. Enduring several hours hooked up to gadgets and Pitocin was far from fun. As I lay there on a gurney, I weathered what any other mother-to-be goes through. Except, I didn't have the comfort of a labor/delivery/recovery room. Too many moms and not enough beds. Go figure! I finally moved into one of those pretty, cozy rooms when I was about to deliver. Go me! Thank God for Demerol!! Shortly after the delivery of my incredibly sweet boy, I declared I could do it all gain. I would if God saw fit for me to have more children. He ended up being my one and only. With all sincerity I don't know that I could possibly love another human quite the way I do him. He's miraculous. When I gave birth that...

Twenty-five years later and there we were. A small assembly of people drawn togethe r for one cause. We celebrated the 25th anniversary of graduating from high school. For some that may seem a tedious and unnecessary task. I know numerous people who prefer to never look back. This sort of declaration is made: "That was so yesterday! I hated high school and everything about it!" When I first started discussing attending my reunion, people made such comments about their high school friends. They reminisced about the cliques: mean girls; snotty guys; jocks; stoners; geeks; freaks; nerds; sluts. In their memories there always seemed to be a level of animosity between the groups. I can't honestly recall that. Sure, there were girls I never hung out with outside of school. There were boys who'd never give me the time of day to date . Yet, I didn't feel left out. At least my current recollection isn't as such. OK, I hated not having boys pine over me or openly want ...